Total Pokemon: Alola
by Dark Arcanine 33
Summary: 5 Islands. 14 Competitors. Two new hosts. 100,000 Poke. What chaos will unfold? Find out right now on Total...Pokemon...Alola! Read & Review!
1. Episode 1: Meet and Greet

**000**

"LUNALA!" a deep voice echoed throughout the Hall of Legends. It was repeated several times, which was starting to vex the unusually quiet vicinity. Usually it was much more noisy and chaotic, but with the increased number of Total Pokemon based competitions, most of the legends were gone and the ones that were left were the quiet ones. Well...at least the _usually_ quiet ones.

"LUNALA! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!" a large white lion exclaimed while running around the hall, trying to locate his counterpart.

He had a blunt muzzle with a blue-gray nose and pale blue eyes. The top half of his face was a deep blue that shows a constantly changing starscape. Four yellow spikes framed his head like a crown and two more pairs of spikes adorned either side of its lower jaw, and each spike separates large tufts of his mane. Solid ridges—red nearest his head and yellow farther away—poked out of each tuft along the middle, except on the tufts on his cheeks and chin, with the top part wrapped around the tip of the tuft. Overall, his mane created the appearance of a stylized sun. There was a dark orange band around each leg and there is a black spot on each foot. He had three black toes on each foot with long yellow claws. At the tip of his tail was a large black spot with a thin yellow rim. He was Solgaleo, emissary of the Sun.

At the moment, he was entering different rooms in the hall, still trying to find Lunala. After checking the numerous social areas such as the living room, den, basement, and center, he was growing annoyed.

Arceus, the Alpha Pokemon, was annoyed as she sat in her room with Giratina, her mate. Yes, the two opposing Pokemon were mates, no one really understood it other than themselves, but it was not a subject to be questioned anyway.

The two of them were loving the fact that the only legendaries that were left at the hall were either calm, quiet, or unbothered. That was...until Solgaleo started running around looking for Lunala. Though, they could only blame themselves for that.

"LUNALA!" they heard through the thick walls of their room.

Giratina groaned. "Maybe we should have made him bring her here earlier before we gave our answer…"

Arceus nodded in agreement. The two had given Solgaleo the 'okay' that he and Lunala could start their own mini series, just so they got the hang of the whole competition thing. The only reason that the other legends hadn't had to go through a trial was because they had already dealt with their own version of the competitions they were hosting; all of the legendaries of Alola, whom Arceus created after, hadn't.

"You want me to just get them and bring them back?" asked Giratina.

"It'd be appreciated…" Arceus replied with a nod.

Giratina nodded and phased through the floor of their room. Arceus looked at the clock on the wall next to their bed and a single minute went by before Giratina phased through the door in his Origin Forme, which he only ever changed to when he was aggravated or when the two of them were intimate.

He had the Sunne and Moone Pokemon wrapped in his wispy appendages on his back. He dropped them at the center of their room, with Lunala looking vexed, bags under her eyes, and Solgaleo having a normal expression. Arceus and Giratina both got up to the foot of their bed to look at the two of them.

"Are you two sure that you want to do this?" asked Giratina. "It's a lot of work and you'll likely have some brats as contestants…"

Solgaleo, who was usually hesitant, nodded, while Lunala yawned. "Did this have to happen in the morning? It's 11: 47 in the morning…"

"Is that an issue?" asked Arceus.

"You know that I always sleep through the morning and get up at 6 PM now…" she grumbled. "It's not my fault he sleeps through the night…"

"Um...you two are opposites, of course that's going to happen.." Giratina said, not sure about why she was complaining. "Plus, if this show's gonna happen, you're both have to stay up for a long time. Unless you decide to implement something that allows you to keep that sleep schedule…"

"We can do that?" asked Solgaleo.

"I don't really like that idea. It shows a bit of unprofessionalism in my eyes…" Arceus commented. "But, because this is you guys' trial run, I'll be lenient. We'll see how well you do with whatever you decide to have happen."

Lunala yawned again. "Great...so can I go back to bed?"

Arceus opened up a drawer next to the bed and gave her a can that had the label 'Awakening' on it. "Here, drink this…" she stated as she levitated it to Lunala.

The celestial bat cupped her hands to receive the beverage can and took a swig of it. Her eyes widened immediately and she shuddered from the taste; The taste was both bitter and sour at the same time.

"Well, that woke me up. What's in that?" she said, smacking her lips to get the taste out of her mouth.

"We don't know", Giratina replied. "Mewtwo made those. You'll have to ask him."

"So", Solgaleo started, "when do we start?"

"Well, first, you have to get people to sign up for your show", Giratina explained. "Make a commercial or ad and give people an application to fill out."

Lunala and Solgaleo exchanged glances. "And uh...who do we choose?"

"Well, uh...that's...pretty much up to you", said Giratina. "Just choose who you think will cause the most drama or humor for your show…"

"And because you two are just starting, I say just choose fourteen competitors…" said Arceus. "Just so it's not so overwhelming…"

"Alright…" said Lunala. "And...can we choose based on what region they're from? I want to make our series different and have it-"

"It's whatever you decide to have it be…" Arceus interrupted, knowing what she was going to say. "Now, use Mew's laptop and set up everything. Then, let us know when you've chosen your players…"

The duo nodded before heading out of the Alpha and Renegade Pokemon's room. After the two of them left, the two of them stared at each other and started to kiss.

 **-000-**

 **2 MONTHS LATER**

 **-000-**

The branched evolutionary legends returned to Arceus and Giratina's room. They had made everything and chosen their fourteen competitors. They had to go through over 200 different audition tapes; they had forgotten the fact that these shows had gotten extremely popular.

"So...how did it go?" asked Arceus.

"There were so...many...losers…" Lunala stated bluntly. "Out of like...how many were there?"

"261…" Solgaleo stated with a deadpan, exhausted tone.

"Yeah. 261...only like...32 of them were actually decent or interesting!" Lunala exclaimed.

"Well, that's usually how it goes…" said Giratina. "You have any idea how many rejected tapes the others have had to dump into Heatran's room and burn?"

"No. How many?"

"You seriously think we have the actual number?" Giratina retorted, raising a brow.

"Oh…" the lion said, looking to the side.

"So, did you two set your starting date?" asked Arceus. "And did you let the applicants know they were chosen?"

The two of them immediately groaned and sprawled on the ground. The couple looked down at them and shook their heads.

"Uh...are you two sure that you want to go through with this?" asked Giratina.

The two of them got up and sighed. "Yes…" they both groaned.

"Just let them know that you'll start next week…" said Arceus. "Or if you want to do it earlier, you can start this upcoming Thursday…"

The two of them looked at each other before turning back to the couple and nodding.

"Alright, just go send them a few emails and go from there…" Arceus explained. "And have you decided where you want them to meet you?"

"Akala Ferry Terminal…"

"Okay, great", Arceus replied. "Go on and finish up…"

The two left the room again, leaving the couple alone to ponder.

"How do you think they'll do?" asked Giratina.

Arceus sighed. "I'm not so sure. Sure, they got some experience from Mew and Victini's show, but I'm not sure how they're gonna act with just each other…"

"Well, we can always give them a moderator…" said Arceus. "I think Necrozma is free…"

"But do you think he'd want to deal with this?" Giratina replied. "He's new himself, but he's already proved himself to be more serious and abrasive than these two…"

"Isn't that good?"

"With their personalities, probably not…" said Giratina. "I say we just let them be for now…"

Arceus sighed. "Alright...whatever you say, love…"

The two kissed briefly.

 **000**

The duo was seen at a dock in front of a large building with a blue roof.

"WELCOME ALL TO TOTAL POKEMON: ALOLA!" Lunala exclaimed cheerily. "Fourteen competitors with compete for 100,000 Poke while enduring some of the most sickening, craziest, and suck-tacular challenges imaginable!"

"That may be an over exaggeration, but the competition will definitely be tough…" Solgaleo stated with a smile, making Lunala give him a dirty look.

"DId you have to make it sound lame?" asked Lunala. "This is our first time doing this. DON'T MAKE IT SOUND BAD!"

Solgaleo groaned and rolled his eyes. "The players will be separated into two teams, and after the challenge, whoever loses will have to vote out one of their fellow players. This will keep going on until we're down to the final two and whoever wins the grand challenge becomes the winner of Total Pokemon: Alola!" he explained with a small smile.

"And now that you all know the rules of the game, let's meet our competitors…"

The two looked out to sea, but nothing was approaching as of yet. The hosts exchanged nervous glances.

"Uh...I said….let's meet our competitors!" Lunala repeated.

They looked out to sea and saw nothing yet again.

"Darn it, are you sure you put-"

"And here they come now!" Solgaleo said, seeing a small ferry in the distance.

Lunala sighed in relief. "I guess we went a bit too fast with the intro…" she said sheepishly.

"Or you put a later time…" Solgaleo muttered.

"What was that?!"

"And our first player here is…"

The first ferry arrived with a small, ovoid black Pokemon with six pink spikes, three on each side of its back, on it. He had a white mouth that resembled the Daimonji and two pink, beady eyes.

"Pyukumuku! How are you, buddy?" asked Lunala.

"I was actually surprised that you chose me!" he said cheerily. "T-Thank you! Maybe I can make friends here!"

"Hey, you can always hope and it more than likely won't happen…" Lunala said, causing Pyukumuku to look down in sadness and for Solgaleo to blanch, which could mainly be seen in his expression.

"Uh...you'll be fine, little guy", said Solgaleo. "You'll make some friends here, I'm sure. Now, go hang out in the terminal."

Pyukumuku's attitude didn't change, but he did as he was instructed and hopped to the terminal.

The next ferry approached the dock, bringing forth a light gray reptilian Pokemon with numerous scales on her body. She had dark gray arms and legs. She also had yellow and red markings on her. She had a beak-like snout and angular eyes. She had yellow claws on her arms and legs. She also had numerous scale plates. There was a yellow one with a light yellow, heart-shaped stripe across it on her forehead. Two circular scales covered the front of her neck; both were light yellow with darker edges. The tops of her arms were covered by three overlapping scales. The first two scales were gray with a yellow rim, but the last scale was red with a yellow rim and was bigger than the other two. At the tip of her tail was a small, circular scale. That last scale had a light yellow portion before ending in a darker yellow.

"Hakamo-o….nice to see that you've made it!" Solgaleo greeted.

"Uh huh…" she responded, her arms folded. "So, how many others are coming before we can start this and I can actually win?"

"Well, someone's certainly confident…" said Lunala. "We'll see how long that lasts; and you're just the second to arrive, so there are twelve left after you…"

"Yep, so head on inside of the terminal and wait there…" Solgaleo instructed.

Hakamo-o rolled her eyes before heading to the terminal.

 **-000-**

Inside of the terminal, Pyukumuku was sitting in a chair, nervous about meeting the other competitors. He had been excluded from every single social event he's ever showed up for. He's even been excluded from his own birthday parties! He heard the door of the terminal open and immediately took a deep breath. "Okay...you can do this Pyukumuku…" he whispered to himself. "You...can make...a friend…"

"Uh...are you talking to yourself?" he heard as he turned and saw Hakamo-o looking down at him. He wasn't expecting her, so he immediately yelled and jumped from the chair in fright. Hakamo-o huffed and rolled her eyes upon seeing that. If this was going to be her competition, this was going to be child's play.

"To answer your question…" she heard as she saw a white hand reach for the seat next to her and pull the small guy back up.

"Yes…" he answered.

"Okay…" she said before sitting down on the seat he was originally in.

Pyukumuku didn't know what to say to really start a conversation with her; what do you talk about with a Dragon and Fighting-type that looked ready to eat you alive?

"So...uh...come here often?"

Hakamo-o gave him a look before moving to the seat on the opposite side, causing Pyukumuku to sigh, realizing the idiotic question that he proposed.

 **-000-**

The next ferry pulled up, carrying a strange mushroom-like Pokemon. He had large black eyes with small, light green circles on the outer sides of them and a medium-sized black mouth. He had a large, purple mushroom cap on his head with a glowing, green underside and spots on the top. His body resembled a stalk and his arms were thin with three green tips. Its lower half was pink in color with bumps around its midsection.

"Shiinotic! How are you?"

The Illuminating Pokemon didn't respond, as his smile only got wider. "I am doing perfectly fine as long as the overlord of light allows me to drain the fluids of everyone in my way. The way the grass grows in the sky really lets us know that all hope is lost as the world will be consumed in a ball of fire…" he said in a very honeyed tone. "Yeah…."

The two hosts exchanged looks of fear. What he said was extremely creepy, but his facial expression and tone of voice were the exact opposite. Well, mainly his tone.

"Great story, uh…" Solgaleo stated. "G-Go on and head into the terminal…"

"The overlord can't protect us all...it protects no one as long as the monkeys of the universe are loose from their barrel…" he said, allowing his arms to graze against both hosts, who shuddered.

"Remind me why we chose him?" Lunala explained.

"We needed the weird guy…" Solgaleo replied.

Lunala sighed as the next ferry came into view. The Pokemon that came off of it resembled a mongoose. She had brown fur with a yellow underbelly and tuft of fur on her head resembling a beret. There were tufts of fur near her shoulders, hips, and base of her tail. She had rounded, notched ears, a pink nose, and sharp teeth. Her eyes were barely hidden under her stripe and she had yellow fur on her chin as well. There were black claws on each of her paws.

"I have arrived at the island location and am preparing to greet said hosts…" she spoke into a tape recorder, which she placed into a slot on the leather belt she was wearing.

"Gumshoos...welcome", Lunala greeted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both…" she greeted. "How's the rest of my competition looking?"

"Uh...you're gonna have to find that out for yourself…" Solgaleo chuckled. "Head on into the terminal."

A bit confused by what he meant by that, Gumshoos padded to the building.

 **-000-**

She looked through the window and saw Hakamo-o and Pyukumuku sitting on the opposite side of Shiinotic, who had stopped babbling nonsense was just staring at the two of them with a creepy smile. Once she opened the door, Shiinotic turned around abruptly, causing her to recoil back from shock.

The other two gulped were relieved to not have his soulless eyes and smile in their direction for a while.

"Uh...hi…" Gumshoos greeted, uncomfortable about the eye contact that she and Shiinotic were currently engaged in.

As she moved across the room, she felt his eyes following her. She gained an idea, remembering what was happening to Pyukumuku and Hakamo-o.

She moved to a seat on the side of him, but not too close.

"H-Hi…" Pyukumuku greeted, waving using his innards.

"Salutations…" Gumshoos replied back before feeling a strange presence. She looked to her side and saw Shiinotic directly beside her. She blanched and jumped up out of fear. "When did you get up?!"

 **-000-**

The next ferry arrived carrying a huge rusty, brown anchor and ship wheel held by a mass of seaweed. The anchor had numerous black spots. The seaweed covered the thick curved bottom of the anchor in a zigzag fashion, leaving empty spaces that look like sharp teeth. The seaweed continues up to cover entire thin shank of the anchor, as well as what appears to be a round, nose-like hub on the top. The wheel which looked a pale pinkish-purple with yellow details, was stuck to the back of this hub by its center and able to rotate freely. The wheel, which was damaged, featured six spokes and four yellow handles, as well as two lavender stubs where the other handles should be. A simple compass, resembling an eye, was set to a ring-shaped part on one side of the wheel; there was another ring on the opposite side, but nothing was inside of it.

"Huh...not gonna lie, I expected something more spectacular…" it stated. "But then again, knowing these shows, there's nothing spectacular about them."

"Dhelmise...this is just the meeting area. Nothing spectacular is going to be happening just yet…" Lunala explained.

"Whatever…" he said as he floated towards the building, already guessing that it was where he had to wait.

"Well, he's going to be pleasant…" Solgaleo said sarcastically.

Lunala sighed as she saw the next ferry approaching.

As it popped up, a red canid did a flip forward with music playing in the background on her ferry.

She looked like a bipedal wolf. Her fur was red with white on her lower legs and as a streak that covers her face, tail, and underside. She had folded ears with black tips, large fur tufts on the sides of her face. Her nose was black and triangular and her mouth was full of sharp teeth. Both of her eyes glowed completely pink. A white mane of fur covered her back and shoulders and swept over her head in a crescent shape. Two claw-shaped rocks were positioned under her arms and a larger stone came over her head and her paws all had three black claws.

"Lycanroc...welcome to the show…" Solgaleo greeted.

"Psyched to be here!" she said cheerily before letting out a howl. "I can't wait to get down and dirty…Let's get this party started!"

"I like you already…" Lunala stated. "Head on inside. We've got...eight more players to introduce and the fun and mayhem will begin…"

Lycanroc howled once again and headed to the terminal.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc entered the room and saw that it was unusually silent inside. She realized that this was a new experience for them and all, but even THIS was too quiet for her. She liked being around lively people, so this bunch was already a let down.

"Hey, what's the matter with you guys, we're competing for 100,000 Poke! Aren't you all excited?!" she queried.

"I'm pretty sure we're all just trying to think of appropriate strategies at the moment…" Dhelmise stated. "Plus, with this skeevy guy just staring at all of us with a creepy ass smile, it makes you not want to say or do anything…"

"Oh come on dude, he's in this for the same reason as the rest of us. No need to discriminate…"

"I like you already!" Pyukumuku said, making Lycanroc chortle. "Thanks little man. Lunala said the same thing…"

"Second? Hooray! I'm not last for once!"

"You really expect someone else to say the same thing after she's already arrived?" Hakamo-o asked, resting her head on her arm.

"You never know…" Lycanroc said with a sly wink.

Hakamo-o rolled her eyes, while Gumshoos stifled her laugh.

 **-000-**

The next Pokemon to arrive from the ferry was a large, bipedal feline with a muscular build. He had a short snout with a pink nose and bright green eyes with yellow sclerae. He had small, pointed ears and large tufts of fur extended from his cheeks. The top of his muzzle and the top and back of his head were black. A thin red stripe ran vertically across his head and formed V-shaped eyebrows for him. He had a gray body with black stripes adorning it. He had a belt of flames around his waist, resembling a championship belt. His arms, legs, and tail were red with black stripes. His hands, which had five fingers, were large with sharp white claws and pink paw pads in the center. Its legs had two striped and had three toes without claws visible. His tail had one strike and a tuft of spiky fur around the tip.

"Incineroar! How you doing, man?"

Incineroar gave them a smirk. "I'm fine. But these others probably won't be when I'm done…"

"Interesting...and pretty intimidating. Better try not to make too many enemies…" Lunala stated. "Head on into the terminal…"

Incineroar nodded and started walking to the building.

The next ferry pulled up shortly as the Incineroar's sank. The next Pokemon to hop off held a dismal expression as she hopped on the dock. She was round in shape and gray in color. She had a white face and two round, circular ears situated above her face. She had two black eyes with a small black nose at the end of a short snout; she had yellow markings on her cheeks. Her arms and legs were stubby and white in color. She had numerous yellow and brown triangular patterns on her back and sides. A gray, thunderbolt-shaped needle was situated at the back of her head and was tipped in yellow.

"Togedemaru! How's life been treating you?" asked Lunala.

Togedemaru looked at them and just left without saying a word.

"Good chat…" Solgaleo stifling his laughter as Lunala growled to herself.

 **000**

Incineroar was standing against the wall of the terminal with a toothpick he had gotten from the dispenser on the front counter. Lycanroc was currently eyeing him from across the room, her tail wagging like crazy.

Dhelmise noticed this and groaned. "Geez, calm down…" he said. "I didn't shrink myself down for this competition just to see you drool over an overgrown housecat…"

"Got a problem with me, seaweed?" Incineroar stated, hearing him. "If the lady wants to drool, let her drool. You're not glued to the chair…"

Dhelmise gave him a look. "Last time I checked, I was here first and she decided to sit next to _me_ so... _she_ should be the one to move…"

"Does it fucking matter?" asked Hakamo-o. "It's not harming you, so deal with it…"

"It's offending the senses…"

"You're seaweed. I didn't know you had fee-"

"ALL shall perish as the mighty music of the world continues to played and enters the sphincters of the unholy…" Shiinotic stated, causing everyone to stare at him.

The door opened and everyone turned to see Togedemaru enter with her same dismal expression. She immediately sat down in the chair nearest to the door.

Seeing this expression, the girls immediately knew not to talk to her at that moment. Incineroar decided to just ignore her, Dhelmise didn't care, Shiinotic was...Shiinotic, but Pyukumuku…

"Uh...are you okay?"

His reply was a Thunderbolt, which knocked him out immediately. Unluckily for Togedemaru, though, Pyukumuku's ability caused her to faint automatically as well.

There was silence after that occurred.

"Well, that was well deserved…" Dhelmise stated.

"Which?" asked Gumshoos. "It didn't look deserved on either side to me…"

"Any guy knows not to talk to a girl with an attitude, so it was his own fault…" Dhelmise said.

"Yes, trying to see if something's wrong with someone warrants an attack…" Incineroar stated, rolling his eyes as he burned the toothpick in his mouth.

"If the girls don't say anything, you don't either…"

The girls remained quiet, not wanting to talk about the situation.

 **-000-**

The next competitor resembled a large stuffed bear. His head, back, and tail were pink and he had a black front. His arms and legs were black. He had a white snout with black beady eyes. He had a white headband-like marking and fluffy ears that extended from it. His tail had a darker pink stripe around it

"Bewear! Welcome…"

"Hallo…" he greeted in a rather grainy, roar-like tone, waving.

Lunala giggled. "Are you ready for the competition?"

"Okay…" he said in the same tone.

"You wanna go into the building?" asked Solgaleo, the bear's voice irritating him.

"Is there people inside?"

"Yes."

"Yay! Social status!" he said, raising his arms as he walked to the building.

"Well, he was better than Togedemaru…" Lunala commented.

"Yeah, but his voice was just...awful…" Solgaleo said, shuddering. "And-"

Hinges were heard being broken as the two legendaries turned around and saw Bewear holding the door above his head and snapping it like a toothpick.

They were both blanching, especially when they started hearing shouts come from inside of the terminal.

"They'll be fine…" said Lunala, easily brushing the situation to the side, much to Solgaleo's surprise and annoyance.

The next ferry arrived and a large mare climbed off. She had a brown body and a black-and-red mane and tail. She had heavy lidded black eyes with red rims on the bottom. She had a red blaze on her muzzle and long black ears with brown insides. Her mane extended along her back and had three thin structures on either side with red mud at the ends that resemble dreadlocks. Her tail was much larger and had black notches missing from the mud around the tip. She had red mud around her legs, which had three notches around the bottom.

"Mudsdale", Lunala greeted. "Ready for the competition?"

"I suppose that I am…" she said with a smile. "I think my strength will allow me to make it further than the others. I mean...as long as no one is as strong as I am…"

The hosts exchanged glances. "Head on in and converse with the others…" Solgaleo said.

Mudsdale nodded and walked to the door, which she saw was torn from its hinges and broken on the ground. She peeked into the building and saw a Togedemaru starting to sit up.

Among the others, she saw a rather familiar looking Bewear, making her eyes widen. Upon seeing her, he smiled and waved at her.

"Muddy!" he greeted.

"Oh Arceus why…" she whispered to herself as she suddenly felt extra weight on her back and saw that Bewear was no longer in the seat he was in.

"So, I take it that you two know each other…" said Incineroar, raising a brow.

"Yeah…" Mudsdale said, sitting down, making Bewear slide back down. "We grew up together…"

Bewear hugged her from behind, being sure not to hug her too tight. Mudsdale sighed.

"Looks like someone likes you…" Lycanroc said with a smirk.

Mudsdale gave her a look of knowing.

"Aw...how precious...a door breaker with a huge horse…" said Dhelmise. "Your children would eat each other alive…"

"CHILDREN?!" Mudsdale exclaimed, her eyes widened as she stood back up. "Oh no no no. NEVER gonna happen…"

"Hey, you never know…" Dhelmise edged on.

Mudsdale gave the seaweed ghost a dirty look, not wanting to be toyed with when it came to relationships.

 **000**

The next ferry dropped off a large, serpentine-like dragon. Most of his skin was light blue, but the lower half of his face and the underside of his neck were a pale green. There were three spots on each of its sides that were light green, too. He had pink eyes with curved, yellow eyebrows, a small mustache, and a small, white beard with a circular end. He had a mop of white hair split into four rounded sections. Two draped down either side of his head. He had fluffy white fur covering the lower half of his body and hiding his arms. He also had a fluffy white tail and a small, curved spike on his back.

"Drampa! How are you, man?"

"Splendid. Thank you for asking…" he replied in a hoarse tone. He cleared his tone. "If you don't mind me asking, are any of the chil-I mean, other competitors here, yet?"

"Yep, they're right in there…" Solgaleo replied as he gestured to the building.

"Excellent…" he said as he immediately headed into the terminal.

"Uh...did he seem a bit weird to you?" asked Lunala.

"If they sign up for shows like this, they're all technically weird…" Solgaleo stated. "Shiinotic though...that's an entirely different level of weird…"

 **-000-**

"Hello chirren…mmm", Drampa said as he entered the terminal. "Which one of you is the youngest?"

"Uh...why do you need to know?" asked Hakamo-o.

"Just curious. I wanna see where the fresh meat is gonna be coming from…" Drampa said with a dirty smile.

All of the others exchanged glances. They could tell that something wasn't right here…"

"PORN is the gateway of self regret and the yellow pages of the future will allow us all a place in the abyss of white cream cheese!" Shiinotic said, waving his arms in the air.

"Shiinotic...shut up", Gumshoos said, annoyed.

 **-000-**

The next ferry dropped off a red bird. She had two lines of black feathers across each of her wings and tail. Her plumage resembled a frilly flamenco dress. She had a white ball with earring shaped spiral extensions at the back of her head. Her eyelids were purple and her tail was long.

She flew up and started dancing before taking a bow, the necklace she was wearing making a clinking sound.

"Nice performance, Oricorio", Lunala commented.

"Gracias senorita…" she thanked in a Spanish accent. "And what did the grande lindo león think?"

"Uh...very nice…" Solgaleo said, blushing at the compliment he was given.

Oricorio giggled.

"What's up with the necklace?" asked Lunala. "What do those charms represent?"

"Oh these are vials of my nectar…"

Upon hearing that, both hosts' eyes widened.

"Uh...I...didn't know that you were _that_ conservative about your...uh…"

"Oh, no no...you dirty boy", Oricorio said. "I mean my nectar as in my flower nectar. I like to switch up my style day by day to make myself feel fresh…"

She lifted the yellow vial and dipped her beak inside, causing her appearance to change. Her feathers were puffy like pom-poms and she had white pants-like bottoms with pink, clawless feet. She didn't have a tail now and he feathers resembled a cheerleading outfit.

"2, 4, 6, 8. I'm gonna win there's no debate! Yeah!" she cheered as she took another drink of red nectar, changing her back to Baile Style.

She rolled her tongue immediately.

"Very interesting…" said Solgaleo. "Head on into the terminal. Try to lighten up the mood in there…"

"Seguro guapo~" Oricorio said as she flew toward the terminal.

 **-000-**

Inside, Hakamo-o was panting furiously with an unconscious Drampa in front of her.

"Nice moves…" Incineroar commented with a smirk.

"The bastard shouldn't have touched me…" Hakamo-o growled, popping her knuckles.

Oricorio flew into the room. "Hola muchachas…" she greeted as she flew around the area before landing on the counter.

"What's up…" Lycanroc greeted.

"Hi…" Pyukumuku responded, as the others just remained silent.

"OBJECTION! Um...detective Gumtree, was it? Detective Gumtree?" Shiinotic said, turning to Gumshoos.

"Gumtree? It's GumSHOOS", she exclaimed. "And don't you dare finish that reference…"

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Uh...do I want to know what is wrong with him?" asked Oricorio.

"None of us know…" said Mudsdale, whom was still being hugged by Bewear. "He's just been spouting nonsense sporadically since some of us have gotten here…"

"Ah…" Oricorio said before noticing Drampa. "And...him?" she asked, pointing in his direction.

"He was stroking my side…" said Hakamo-o. "I don't play about that kind of thing unless we're screwing…"

"Well, you've heard it here gents, if you wanna rub her, you have to have banged her first…" Dhelmise said.

"NO! I mean that we have to be dating! I'm not shallow!"

"Gee, why so defensive?" Dhelmise asked, chortling.

Hakamo-o blushed and growled, folding her arms.

 **-000-**

The second to last ferry arrived to the dock and a black-and-white lemur-like Pokemon hopped out with a large berry. Majority of his fur was white. He had a black muzzle, upper body, hands, and feet. White fur was around his face in clumps. He had a green berry helmet. The helmet had a orange blaze in the front and two leaves that stood straight up. His eyes were yellow with reddish-orange irises. There were leaf like markings on his shoulders and chest. He had a long tail and humanoid hands and feet.

"Passimian! What's up?!" Solgaleo greeted, raising a paw as Passimian high-fived him.

"How's it going man?" Passimian responded, his voice unusually husky.

Lunala blushed a bit, but got over it rather quickly. Passimian noticed her body language and saw her blush, which worried him a bit.

"Well, uh…" Passimian started, now feeling awkward about the situation. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Oh, you go in there", said Solgaleo, gesturing to the terminal, where Incineroar was standing outside.

"Okay...uh...nice to meet you two…" he greeted as he walked to the terminal. Incineroar looked up, a new toothpick in his mouth, and upon seeing Passimian, his eyes widened. He saw him nod in greeting, which he nodded back. The toothpick immediately turned to ashes as he went back inside.

 **-000-**

"Mother of Arceus, how many of us are going to be competing?" asked Mudsdale, looking around.

"If I recall, they said there are fourteen of us, and…" Gumshoos started as she started counting.

"Thirteen", Bewear said, finally releasing Mudsdale, much to her relief.

"Yep, thirteen", Gumshoos confirmed. "So we're waiting for the last one…"

"And what do you know, it's a girl. How obvious…" Dhelmise said, causing most of the girls to turn toward him with glares.

"Ooh...bad choice of words, man…" Passimian said, seeing the looks of anger on all of the girls' faces.

"Hey don't get your panties in a bunch, " Dhelmise stated. "It was obvious that they went boy-girl-boy...so if Passimian was thirteen, another girl is going to be the last one. Stop being so offended quickly…"

"You're not funny…" said Gumshoos. "Just know that you're not…"

Dhelmise stifled a laugh. "Who said I was trying to be? I was being serious, but your reactions are what made it funny…"

"Alright competitors…the last one of you has arrived, so please come on out so we can explain the game…"

 **000**

All of the other competitors exited the Ferry Terminal, where most of the guys' mouths when agape upon seeing the last female competitor.

She was plant-like but had a humanoid body. Her torso, arms, and legs were dark purple, while her hips and head were white. She had a green calyx and she had a bang made from one of them. The other leaves looked like long hair with yellow-green marks on them. There was a crown-like growth with thin yellow stripes. She had heavy-lidded eyes like Mudsdale, but she had purple eyelashes, but no visible nose or mouth. The lower part of her face covered by a short ruff extending from her body. Her arms are slender and have no fingers on her hands,and her long legs resembled purple boots.

"Hi…" she greeted. "I'm...uh...what's my name again?"

"Tsareena…" Lunala replied. "Your name is Tsareena…" she replied.

"Alright, now that you're all here...welcome to Total Pokemon: Alola", Solgaleo greeted. "While you're competing here, you all will be separated into two teams of seven and you will have to stay with each other in the Tide Song Hotel for the duration of the competition."

"Um...and how will those hotel rooms be set up exactly?" asked Mudsdale, who had Bewear on her back again.

"Don't worry, the rooms aren't co-ed. The guys will be on one floor and the girls will be on another…"

"Aw, that's lame…" said Passimian.

"Hey, sorry. We don't want anyone getting pregnant…" said Lunala.

"Condoms exist…" Lycanroc said, causing everyone to look at her, as they were expecting to hear that from a guy.

"And condoms can break…" Lunala countered. "Trust me, I know…"

"Er...I'm sure we _all_ knew…" Gumshoos said.

"What's a condom?" asked Tsareena.

"Something that you'll probably need surgically implanted into you…" Dhelmise commented.

"Oh...so like they do for butts and stuff?"

Hakamo-o felt slight breathing on her shoulder and saw Drampa's head slung over her shoulder, causing her to backfist him in the face, knocking him out cold.

"Each one of you will get your own room, which is already set up with an alarm to wake you up for breakfast", Solgaleo explained.

"The challenges will take place all around Alola on different islands, so prepare for a lot of going back-and-forth…" Lunala explained.

"Oh yay...more annoyance…" Togedemaru stated.

"Hey, maybe it won't be that bad…" Pyukumuku said, resulting in another Thunderbolt hitting him.

Togedemaru shook slightly before wincing.

"Now, I'm sure you all are curious as to who is on what team…"

"Well, the thought hadn't really crossed my mind, but I guess we are now…"

"TEAMS are nothing but a ploy by evil Oranguru to harvest our organs and devour our genitals. We shall never bare offspring…" Shiinotic stated, causing everyone to take a few steps away from him.

"Please tell me he's not on my team…" Hakamo-o begged.

"You're gonna see right now…" said Solgaleo. "Team One will consist of Bewear, Pyukumuku, Dhelmise, Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, Oricorio, and Tsareena. You all are the Stellar Solgaleos."

"Naming a team after yourself...how cliche…" Dhelmise stated.

"That means the rest of you; Passimian, Incineroar, Drampa, Shiinotic, Mudsdale, Togedemaru, and Gumshoos…" Lunala called. "You all are the Loyal Lunalas…"

"Great...we have the weirdo on our team…" said Mudsdale. "But...at least I don't have to deal with Bewear anymore…"

"Alright, follow us to the hotel", said Solgaleo. "We'll explain a couple more things when we get there and then you all are free to explore…"

"Tan emocionante!" Oricorio said as they all followed the hosts to the hotel.

"Wait, so by explore, you really mean explore?" asked Pyukumuku.

"We're not your parents, so as long as no one gets pregnant, do whatever you want…" said Lunala.

"Hmmm...no promises~" Lycanroc said to herself, eyeing Incineroar.

They arrived at the hotel in only five minutes and entered. Inside, the hotel had the normal counter and the lounging area with blue couches sitting around tables.

"Alright, follow us to the elevators…" Solgaleo said, walking toward the elevators.

Once they all were there, they noticed a list for each floor. It seemed to be custom made specifically for the show.

"Now, this is just the lounging area, as you can see there are just a couple of TVs, mirrors, and couches. The 2nd floor will have the buffet and basically the place to stuff your faces. The third and fourth floors are designated to the Solgaleos, while the fifth and sixth are for the Lunalas. The seventh floor serves as a recreational space with fitness equipment dominating the front half and video games dominating the remaining half. The rest of the hotel is off limits", Solgaleo explained.

"Now, come over here…" Lunala said floating towards a single door on the right of the floor. She opened the door, and there was a chair with a camera attached to the wall. "This will serve as a video diary of sorts. Essentially a confessional. Talk about whatever you want in there, whether it be secrets, strategies, or maybe even sing if you want. We don't care…"

"And I...think that's everything", said Solgaleo. "It's about...4:25 right now, so feel free to go out for a while. Your curfew will be 9:00, so if you don't make it back in time, you're gonna have to either find another way in or sleep outside…"

"Are we allowed to let anyone in?" asked Bewear.

"If you want to wake up and go down the elevator for someone who should've been back, then sure…" said Lunala. "I just know that I wouldn't…especially if they're on the opposite team…"

A few of them exchanged mischievous looks.

"And before you all leave to go wherever, why don't you all leave a confessional for the viewers watching at home?" Solgaleo suggested. "And don't worry, the place is soundproof…"

 **000**

" **Well...uh...so far this doesn't seem so bad…" Hakamo-o stated. "My only issue would probably be Drampa and Shiinotic, but neither of them are on my team, so that's a plus. I just hope who I'm stuck with for these next ten weeks are actually good players…"**

 **000**

" **I've gotta say...and no offense to them...my team is looking a bit garb** **á** **ge…" Passimian explained. "I mean...Incineroar and Mudsdale are alright, and Gumshoos looks like she knows quite a bit. But the rest of them?"**

 **He sighed. "Please tell me how the hell a creepy guy who says random stuff, a creeper, and someone who needs Arceus are going to contribute anything to the team…"**

 **000**

" **Mudsdale is pretty. But, since I'm going against her, I guess I have to crush her…" Bewear stated.**

 **000**

" **As glad as I am not to have Bewear on my team, I have to say that I definitely prefer him over Shiinotic, Togedemaru, and Drampa combined!" Mudsdale commented.**

 **000**

" **I hope I don't get eliminated early. I just want to make friends for once!" Pyukumuku said.**

 **000**

 **Gumshoos was talking into her tape recorder. "Log 201-B. I've been placed on the team and am currently making a confession. It is sure to be an interesting time."**

 **She cleared her throat before putting her recorder back in her belt.**

" **Like I said, things should be interesting. There are quite a few characters here that pique my interest…" she said. "I'll admit, I'm probably the smartest one here. I've been researching and studying to become a detective and lawyer, so I think I have a good enough intellect to help me and my team succeed."**

 **000**

" **I'll be honest, I'm just here to fuck with people", Dhelmise chuckled. "Did you see how quickly the girls were gonna jump down my non-existent throat just for saying something containing the words obvious and girl?"**

" **These people are going to be way too easy. I'll have to watch myself though, the money is still something that I'd like to have, and having a team dominated by females is going to give me a rough time…"**

 **000**

" **Hehehe…" Drampa wheezed. "Let me tell you somethin' legendaries have got to be some of the dumbest fools to ever walk the face of tha earth. I'm only here to scope out the sexy li'l chirren that are gon' be around here…"**

" **But...100,000 Poke is a pretty close second to that. It's a shame that Hakamo-o is on the opposite team, but I've got some hunks of meat around me, so I think I'll be perfectly fine…"**

 **000**

 **Lycanroc howled. "I am SO excited for this competition. This hotel is looking just AWESOME! And the guys...umph, minus Shiinotic, Drampa, Dhelmise, and Pyukumuku, I'd let it be a Party Central with me…."**

" **And no, before you start judging me, I'm not a skank, slut, or whatever slur you want. I just like to have fun. That's the whole point of some competitions. Even if you lose, you may make some friends! That's what I'm hoping for mostly: a good time and hopefully getting along with some of the others…"**

 **000**

 **The camera began producing static one Shiinotic entered.**

" **WALLS are just the confines of our mind hiding the enigmatic layers of our esophaguses as…**

 **/ZZZ/**

 **Life and death as we know it will…**

 **/ZZZ/**

 **Consume us all as the universe implodes from the weight of…**

 **/ZZZ/**

 **A Barbaracles large, unusual…**

 **/ZZZ/**

 **Dingleberry stew with your organs and we shall…**

 **/ZZZ* &^&%^/**

 **Happily ever after with all of our limbs devoured by Guzzlord…" he finished with the same expression he had when he got in.**

 **He sighed slowly as the camera began slowly zooming in on his face.**

 **000**

" **Ooh….is this like an interrogation room?" Tsareena asked, seeing the camera and the empty chair.**

 **She sat down. "I'm not tell you anything!"**

 **She stood back up. "TALK!"**

 **She sat back down. "No. I don't wanna!" she said, pouting.**

 **She stood back up. "We'll buy you a muffin!"**

 **She sat back down. "...What kind?"**

 **She stood back up. "Chocolate…"**

 **She sat back down. "I stole the penny from the ground! I didn't know it was concrete's!"**

 **000**

" **Why...why why why am I here?" Togedemaru questioned. "I'm surrounded by nimrods who actually think that they have a chance at winning this game. I've done a lot of research on these shows. I even watched a whole marathon of these different things, which is why I'm fucking cranky right now. No sleep for. Three. Whole. Days. Just trying to come up with a good strategy that won't backfire…"**

" **I know that I've probably already made a bad impression due to my lack of sleep, but tomorrow's another day and I'll have to convince them that I'm an actual reliable player. But, they won't notice me slipping under their noses and destroying them from within."**

" **Too many villains make themselves known way too soon. I'm not going to do that. No one's going to catch me. No one is going to turn against me. I'm going to make sure of that…"**

 **000**

" **Okay, this seems to be the perfect way to show the world how great I would be as an instructor and judge on 'So You Think You Can Dance?'" Oricorio stated. "They've rejected me far too many time. And this time…it is personal…"**

 **000**

 **Incineroar chuckled. "Gotta say. With the kooks they've got on this island, I probably won't need to sabotage anyone. They'll take themselves out and make it easier for me. Hmm...my only problem would probably be the sane ones, so Gumshoos, Mudsdale, and Passimian will have to go early. The other three will be fair game."**

" **Y'see, I have an eye for detail and I can notice and remember the small things about situations that can irk others", he explained. "And with that ability, I'm able to exploit any and everyone I feel like without an issue. I just gotta hope that these morons don't suddenly gain telepathy or a sense of awareness like-uh...um...I don't know, a Psychic-type!"**

" **Main point...this game...is mine…"**

 **000**

 _ **Bewear - The Oblivious Bodybuilder**_

 _ **Dhelmise - The Sarcastic Instigator**_

 _ **Drampa - The Pervy Pedo**_

 _ **Gumshoos - The Intelligent Agent**_

 _ **Hakamo-o - The Serious**_

 _ **Incineroar - The Crafty One**_

 _ **Lycanroc - The Party Girl**_

 _ **Mudsdale - The Bold**_

 _ **Oricorio - The Cheerful Choreographer**_

 _ **Passimian - The Friendly Jock**_

 _ **Pyukumuku - The Outcast**_

 _ **Shiinotic - The Creep**_

 _ **Togedemaru - The Cold and Calculating**_

 _ **Tsareena - The Ditzy Tease**_

 **000**

 **Don't judge me. This is just another short thing that I may or may not complete. This idea has been on my mind for a while, so let me know what you think. Don't expect frequent updates with this since I'm still gonna be working on the last three episodes of TPPI and then I'm gonna take a LOOOOOONG break (for real this time! :O). So yeah, just leave me your thoughts and predictions about the cast and what you think the challenges are going to be like. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time. See ya guys, BYE!**


	2. Episode 2: X, Y, Z-Crystals

**And we're back with another chapter of Total Pokemon: Alola! Let's see what's going on…**

 **000**

None of the contestants decided to take the opportunity to search around the area, as most of them had already ventured around this island before. Others just didn't think going out and around would offer much of anything, so they decided to stay in the Hotel.

Currently, the contestants were separated and on different floors. All of the members of the Stellar Solgaleos were on the third floor, while all of the members of the Loyal Lunalas were on the sixth floor. It seemed like they had similar ideas: get to know your teammates beforehand.

 **000**

The third floor was going to be acting as the girls' floor, as the guys and girls couldn't sleep on the same floor. And because the Solgaleos had more females than males, they decided to meet up in one of the first rooms, which was rather large.

There was one large bed in the center, a flat-screen television directly across from it. There was a bathroom right next to the entrance, a mini fridge next to _that_ door, and a couch across the room, next to the bed. A bedside table with a lamp sat on the left side of the bed with a yellow notepad sitting on it with a pen attached. A piece of paper seemed to already be ripped out of it.

There was an air conditioner next to the window, beside the couch and there was a closet next to the television that held extra blankets and towels.

At the moment, Hakamo-o was sitting on the bed, Lycanroc was sprawled on the couch tossing a paper ball, made from one of the pieces of paper from the notepad, in the air multiple times. Bewear was sitting on the floor, holding his legs, with Pyukumuku sitting by his side. Oricorio was perched on the lamp, and Dhelmise was floating in front of the closet. Tsareena was the only one unaccounted for, but they all knew where she was.

A flush was heard and the leggy ditz exited the bathroom with toilet paper around her legs and her hands. "Ugh...these hotel toilets suck. Why are they so high up and the sink so low?"

Everyone stared at her. Had she seriously used the sink as a toilet...and the toilet as a sink?

"I wonder how you manage to walk around with your level of stupidity…" Dhelmise commented.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it…" Dhelmise responded quickly.

Hakamo-o sighed, holding her head. She had to have an idiot on her team. Sure, it was better than having Shiinotic or Drampa, but it was still going to be a hindrance to their success at one point.

"Uh...you okay, Hakamo-o?" asked Pyukumuku.

Hakamo-o took a deep breath. "Yep. I'm fine…"

"No use in lying...I can tell…" Lycanroc said, still tossing the ball up before throwing it across the room into the trash can. She rose up and walked over to the bed before sitting next to Hakamo-o.

"Now, what's your deal?"

"I said it's nothing…" Hakamo-o responded. "I say what I mean and mean what I say. There's nothing more to get into…"

"Intense denial is the clincher", Dhelmise stated. "Might as well spill it because I can tell that she's not gonna stop pestering you…"

"He's right. I'm _very_ persistent…" Lycanroc explained, folding her arms with a sly smile.

Hakamo-o groaned and looked around at the others, who were watching her intently. Well, minus Tsareena, who had re-entered the bathroom. She sighed.

"Look, no offense, but I don't know what to make of you all just yet…" she explained. "We just met, so…"

"Isn't that the point of this meeting?" asked Bewear, raising a paw.

"Yeah, Bewear's right. Isn't meeting up like this supposed to give us a chance to learn a bit more about each other?" Pyukumuku asked.

"Si, I agree little one…" Oricorio said, flying over and sitting on Hakamo-o's head scale. "We're a team, and if we want to be muy successful, we have to learn to work with each other…"

"Right…" Lycanroc said. "You shouldn't just judge us without getting to know us…"

Hakamo-o looked down. "I guess you guys are right. So, what's you guys' biggest strengths?"

 **000**

The Loyal Lunalas were in a room similar to the Solgaleos. All of the rooms seemed to be identical, making things very convenient for them all.

Passimian was sitting on the bed with his elbows resting on his legs and his hands on his cheeks. He held an irritated expression, as almost everyone on his team was either ignoring him, annoying him, or BOTH.

Incineroar was sitting on the couch, one leg over the other, eyeing him from across the room. He had a small smirk on his face, which faded away after a few seconds. Seeing his vexed expression caused him to chuckle. At the moment, Gumshoos and Mudsdale were pummeling Drampa for making dirty comments towards them, Shiinotic was staring at the black television screen, and Togedemaru was sound asleep in the bed Passimian was sitting on.

" _Hmm...maybe if I can gain his trust, I can find his weakness…"_ he thought. " _No issue in starting early. Hmm...it's a shame, though. I love beefy guys~"_

He got up from the couch and headed over to the Teamwork Pokemon, who was just staring at the wall with his head resting in his hands. When he got close however, he saw Passimian rise up, using his thick tail to hold his berry.

"I'm going to the seventh floor…" he stated begrudgingly. "You all have fun in here…"

"Hold on. I'm coming, too…" Incineroar stated, still following him.

Passimian shrugged and opened the door before going out. Incineroar followed suit, leaving Gumshoos and Mudsdale with only Shiinotic still being conscious. He turned towards them abruptly and gave them his signature creepy smile.

Sharing the unease, the girls exchanged glances before heading to the door as well.

 **000**

It was now 5:31 and Passimian was entering the fitness area of the floor, with Incineroar following suit. As soon as they got there, Passimian groaned and rubbed his face, annoyed, letting his berry roll away from him. Incineroar stopped it with his foot and smiled.

"Thanks…" Passimian stated, seeing Incineroar stop it.

The tiger bent down to pick it up before tossing it back his way.

"What's the matter?" he asked, folding his arms, despite knowing the answer already.

"This team, man!" he exclaimed. "I mean, seriously! We have Drampa, Shiinotic, and Togedemaru on our team, and they're all borderline useless! Well, I'm not gonna say anything about Togedemaru just yet. Her aggression may just mean she's pretty strong…"

"Hey, you don't know, maybe Shiinotic and Drampa are strong, too…" Incineroar started before remembering a couple of key events. "Actually I retract Drampa, he's been beaten by three of the girls here so far. But Shiinotic...yeah, we don't really know about him just yet."

Passimian sighed. "Okay. It seems like you, me, Mudsdale, and Gumshoos are the only visually useful ones at this point in time. If the other three prove that they're good players, I'll retract my statement."

"Good on ya…" Incineroar stated, not really caring in the slightest.

Passimian went over to an elliptical machine near the wall and started moving his legs back and forth. Incineroar stared, hiding a small blush before growling and rubbing his face.

"You alright over there?" Passimian asked, hearing him growl.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine man…" Incineroar replied.

 **000**

" **I am NOT fine…" Incineroar growled with a blush. "Why does that bastard have to be so fit!? Ugh...this is going to be hard for me in more ways than one!"**

 **000**

"Right...so, uh…Lycanroc seems to be into you…" Passimian said, still moving on the elliptical machine. "You gonna try to hit it before the competition's over?"

"Hmm...I would, but I'm already taken…" Incineroar replied, still hiding a blush, as he showed him his ring.

"Whoa, really?" asked Passimian, surprised to hear and see that. "I didn't really picture you as the marrying type. You seemed like a 'hit it and quit it' type of guy..."

Incineroar chuckled. "Yeah, you'd think that…"

"So, who's the lucky girl?" he asked, finally hopping off of the elliptical machine.

"Uh…" Incineroar started, looking to the side.

"Well?" Passimian urged.

"It's...not a girl…" he said after sighing.

"Not a gi-" Passimian started before getting an understanding. "Oh...uh...huh...well, that's cool. I don't judge but, wow…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot…" Incineroar replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

There was a bit of silence for a while between them, which Incineroar actually anticipated.

"Well...uh...I'm gonna go see what they have at the buffet. Catch you later…" Passimian said as he headed to the elevator.

Incineroar chuckled.

 **000**

" **Hey, what goes into me is my own business, and yes...I'm engaged", Incineroar explained, showing his ring again. "That doesn't mean I can't find someone else attractive. My man does that, too."**

" **Ugh...I just can't believe i just gave it away like that! I don't like to bring up my relationships. I should've just fucking lied!" he growled before his eyes widened. "Oh crap...I gotta tell him to keep it to himself!"**

" **A challenge hasn't even started and I've already screwed myself!"**

 **000**

"So...all you do is dance?" asked Hakamo-o. She was questioning Oricorio, who had explained her reason for being there after herself, Bewear, and Pyukumuku.

"No, I can do more than dance. My strengths are mainly vocal and physical, but it also has agility involved…" Oricorio replied. "I am also key when it comes to memorizing moves…"

"Uh-huh…" Hakamo-o stated, taking mental notes of everyone so far. So far she had Bewear's unusual super strength and Pyukumuku's pain tolerance locked in her mind.

"So what about you, Dhelmise?" asked Lycanroc.

"I plead the fifth…" Dhelmise stated immediately. "Just know that I'm here for my own reasons just like the rest of you. The only thing I'll give you is that my biggest strengths are persuasion and my mental capacity."

"Alright...I guess that's helpful…" Hakamo-o commented. "Now what about you?" she asked, turning to Lycanroc. The canid smiled.

"Well~" Lycanroc started. "I have pretty decent seduction techniques, I'm pretty flexible, I've got some physical strength in me, and I'm pretty sneaky when I need to be…"

"So...sexuality is a strength now?" Dhelmise asked. "Quick, someone braid my dangling weeds. Maybe I can add it to my resume, too…"

"Oh haha, very funny…" Lycanroc replied, folding her arms while rolling her eyes. "I'm not a slut and I don't use my sexuality as a weapon...unless I need to."

Hakamo-o, despite her serious demeanor, couldn't help but giggle after hearing that.

"Do we want to know what Tsareena's strengths are, or is she just going to be fodder if we lose?" asked Dhelmise.

"Hey, we don't know. Maybe she's a good player…" Pyukumuku said, attempting to defend her.

"WHY DOES THE WATER TASTE AWFUL?!" they all heard from inside of the bathroom.

"You were saying?" asked Hakamo-o.

"Aye aye aye, la señorita es so dumb that we may lose brain cells from listening to her…" Oricorio commented.

"Naw...maybe Shiinotic, but not Tsareena…." Bewear said. "She's pretty...like Mudsdale…"

"And there he goes again…" Dhelmise said with a groan. "Your mare friend doesn't like you…" he stated.

"Okay…" Bewear said, looking down.

"Hey, don't put the big guy down…" Lycanroc said. "She may come around…"

"Okay…" Bewear repeated.

Suddenly, the rumbling of a stomach was heard. Lycanroc turned to Hakamo-o, who blushed unwillingly. "Damn it…."

"Ooo, somebody's hungry…" Lycanroc said, patting her back. "Well, the buffet's right below us. What do you say we all get something to eat?"

"Sounds good to me!" Pyukumuku said ebulliently.

 **000**

 **Lycanroc giggled. "For someone who doesn't make many friends, Pyukumuku sure is cheerful. It's so cute…"**

 **000**

Mudsdale and Gumshoos were already at the buffet on the second floor getting to know each other. The only thing that they had in common so far was their dislike of Drampa, and it was time to change that. If they were going to be on the same team, they might as well try to be friends.

"So, what's the story between you and Bewear?" Gumshoos asked, sitting at a table near a window. "He seems to really like you…"

Mudsdale sighed. "I really rather not talk about it. It's a very long story…"

"Ah, well, I can understand that…" Gumshoos replied. Due to that answer, she was going to have to change the topic. "Well, what do you think about the rest of the team so far?"

"Drampa and Shiinotic are completely awful. I'm iffy about Togedemaru, and Incineroar and Passimian are pretty decent", Mudsdale replied. "What about you?"

"Well, I don't really like to judge people that quickly, even though first impressions are everything most of the time…" she explained. "All I have to say is that everyone here is interesting for the most part.

Mudsdale shrugged. "I guess that's fair…"

The two of them heard the door of the area open and saw Passimian enter with a rather overwhelmed and exasperated expression. He saw the girls near the window and was tempted to go over and talk to them, but at that point, after dealing with the other three in the room and learning Incineroar's 'secret' so fast, he needed a break from his teammates to just regain his SANITY.

He sat at a table directly next to the food before sitting his berry on the table. Not even seconds later, Incineroar came into the area and immediately smelled the aroma of freshly baked bread and other foods.

He started drooling and his stomach rumbled, but he had to focus. He eyed Passimian next to the food stations and went over before pulling a chair out and taking a seat. He noticed the girls sitting near the window and cursed to himself. He got closer to him. "Look Passimian, I know that you're probably completely weirded out by me, but please. I need you to keep my…'preferences', to yourself", he whispered.

"Dude, I'm not homophobic", Passimian replied. "And I'm not a jackass. What you do in your own home is your business. I wouldn't put it out there like that…"

Incineroar sighed in relief. "Thanks, dude…"

"No problem…" Passimian responded, spinning his berry on the table.

Incineroar rose up to leave, but the smell of the food kept him inside as he grabbed a plate from the island counter with the food there. Among the foods were Pecha Berry Stew, Roasted Bouffalant, Fried Blaziken legs, Politoed Legs, and much more.

The entirety of the Stellar Solgaleos, with the exception of Tsareena, entered the area, causing the place to be erupted in conversation.

Incineroar was glad he had already gotten his plate and moved away to eat on his own. He noticed Lycanroc looking around and saw her look in his direction with sultry eyes. He groaned to himself before biting into a piece of the Bouffalant. After she got her food, she headed to his table, much to his dismay.

"So, big boy~" she started, placing her tray, which had two plates, down. One was pull of pasta and salad and the only was full of meat. "What's your story?"

Incineroar gulped, swallowing the food already in his mouth.

 **000**

Togedemaru's eyes flickered open as she woke up in the bed in the room. She looked around and saw that she was the only one in the room. Well, other than Shiinotic, who was standing above her, watching her sleep.

"EEEEP!" she exclaimed, using Thunderbolt on him as she fell out of the bed. It didn't seem to affect him, however.

"SLEEP is the epitome of testicles being inserted into the chest cavities of the innocent while urethras are being ripped out by man-eating Linoone…" he stated. "Yeah…"

"Does anything you say make any fucking sense!?" she exclaimed.

Her response was his creepy smile. She twitched as her spikes extended. She calmed down and took a breath. "Alright...could you please just stay away from me?"

"AWAY is the way for Salazzle to grind their tails into the mouths of Aggron and tear out their uvulas causing an eruption of bloody vomit and diarrhea from the nostrils on the moon...yeah…" he replied.

"..." Togedemaru didn't say anything. Instead, she just headed to the door to try and find the others. She wasn't even going to bother asking him.

 **000**

" **Well, this team is full of useless duds already…" Togedemaru said brashly. "Shiinotic is the weirdest and creepiest person I have ever met. And I met a homeless Hypno who followed people into the bathroom to eat their shit!"**

" **I'm trying to work alone and undetected, so I have to make sure that I get on everyone's good side…" she stated. "That way, they won't question me or suspect me if anything goes down."**

 **000**

"ALL COMPETITORS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE FIRST FLOOR IMMEDIATELY FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!" blared throughout the entire hotel. There were speakers on each floor and in each room, so it was going to be guaranteed that the players heard them.

Most of the players were in the buffet area now with the exception of Togedemaru and Shiinotic, the former was already heading down to the second floor, but after hearing the announcement in the elevator, she groaned as her stomach growled and she pressed the first floor button with her needle.

The elevator stopped at the second floor and it stopped, revealing most of the other competitors, some of whom started piling inside. She knew that now that she was awake, she'd have to put on a good act.

"Hi guys~" she greeted with a smile. "You heard the announcement, too?"

Those who got into the elevator with her were a bit surprised, while some weren't that convinced.

"Uh...yeah", said Mudsdale, being one of the ones to go inside, along with Bewear, Passimian, Gumshoos, and Tsareena.

The door closed and they started going down as the other elevator opened up for the remaining competitors.

 **000**

Everyone left the elevators and found Shiinotic standing there with his smile, causing them all to jump back in surprise.

"What the-" Togedemaru started. "YOU WERE STILL IN THE ROOM WHEN I LEFT!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah…"

As the mushroom headed to the center of the lobby, the others exchanged looks of fright before moving towards it as well.

Once they did, Solgaleo and Lunala appeared with smiles on their faces.

"Hello again…" Lunala greeted with a smile.

"Hi~!" Pyukumuku greeted, waving his organ-hand.

"What's the important announcement?" asked Hakamo-o, her arms folded

"We're glad you asked…" said Solgaleo, who looked very tired. He yawned. "Well, you know how we told you about your curfew?"

"Yeah…" Dhelmise started. "You said 9 o'clock PM. It's almost 7 o'clock now."

"Well, since we're starting the actual challenge tomorrow, our producers are urging us to get you all to bed early so that we're ready to go", Lunala said, not showing the same level of exhaustion as Solgaleo. "And we're implementing a specific hosting arrangement. So, some challenges will be held in the morning when I'm asleep, and some challenges will be held at night when he's asleep."

"Wait...legendaries have bed times?" asked Gumshoos. "I would've thought that you guys would sleep any time you want."

"We don't really have bed times", Lunala replied, as Solgaleo was dozing off. "I get my energy at night and he gets his in the morning, so we just need to sleep to regain that energy. It's like an internal clock for us-"

A plop was heard as she looked to the side to see Solgaleo lying on the ground, asleep. Dhelmise and Incineroar both stifled laughs.

"Like that…" Lunala said.

"So, we're gonna get one host at a time for challenges?" asked Oricorio. "Extraño. But, at least es diferente…"

"So when do we have to go to bed, now?" Passimian asked, getting them back on topic.

"Oh, right…" Lunala started. "7:30 is the curfew for tonight…but also be wary of what I just said regarding the hosting schedules. Now, go on and get ready for bed you all. We'll, well HE, will see you all tomorrow…"

The contestants nodded and went back to the elevators.

 **000**

 **THE NEXT DAY**

 **000**

Hakamo-o woke up to the sound of snoring next to her and felt something fluffy on her side. She twitched and used Dragon Claw, sending Drampa across the room. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM YOU SICKO!"

Drampa groaned. Hakamo-o growled as she got out of bed and walked over to him.

 **-000-**

She opened up her window and placed the pervy dragon at the edge while he was still disoriented from the Dragon Claw. When he realized what was going on, his eyes widened. "AAAHHHHH!" he screamed as he felt and hit the ground below.

Hakamo-o smiled to herself and shut her window, closing her drapes in the process. She shuddered, unsure if he had done anything to her. She saw that it was just 7:54 AM. She sighed before heading to her bathroom to shower. She turned on the hot water and started feeling it until it was good enough.

She was about to enter the shower when she heard a knock at her hotel room door. She groaned before stepping back out of the shower and heading to the door. She opened the door, seeing Lycanroc and Oricorio standing there.

"Hey…" Lycanroc greeted with a smile before the two of them heard the sound of running water.

"It's almost 8 o'clock of the hour, are you about to take a shower?" Oricorio asked, now in her Pom-Pom Style.

"Yeah, I was, actually…" Hakamo-o said. "So, if you girls don't mi-"

"We don't mind at all…" Lycanroc said as she and Oricorio entered, much to Hakamo-o's dismay. She groaned before closing the door. "Well, make yourselves comfortable I guess. I just had an unwanted guest in my room and I'd like to wash the filth of him off of my body before we go out for the challenge…"

"Unwanted guest? Was he cute or was he a pest?" Oricorio asked.

"Why are you speaking in rhymes?" Hakamo-o responded initially. "And it was Drampa…"

"ISN'T THAT PERV ON THE OTHER TEAM?!" Lycanroc blustered.

"Exactly!" Hakamo-o replied. "I woke up and that bastard was spooning me!"

"Ew…" both girls expressed.

"I mean, if it was someone actually attractive, I could probably deal with it for a few minutes, but that bastard can kill himself!" Hakamo-o stated. "I threw him out of the window, though…"

"Good move, don't know what he's trying to prove…" Oricorio replied.

"I don't know, either…" said Hakamo-o. "Put I'm gonna go shower before the water gets too cold", she said as she headed back to the bathroom.

When she left, Oricorio and Lycanroc exchanged looks. "I wonder what today's challenge will be…hopefully not something bad or nasty..."

"Who knows?" asked Lycanroc, sprawled back on the couch again. "We'll have to wait and find out…"

 **000**

Togedemaru had a tough time going back to sleep considering she had woken up minutes prior to being told to go back to bed. She stayed up watching a few reality shows that weren't like these. She eventually dozed off and was now waking up.

She yawned. "Another day, another acting session…" she said as she rolled out of the bed and into the bathroom. She picked up the complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste, which were in each bathroom. She started brushing her teeth and turned to her left to see Shiinotic standing in the doorway.

She squeaked in fear, falling off of the bathroom counter and falling into the toilet. She groaned before looking back at and seeing that no one was there.

She looked around in confusion and sighed before trying to get out of the toilet without breaking it.

 **000**

 **Togedemaru had a toilet seat around her body. "Shiinotic is dead...DEAD!"**

 **000**

Gumshoos popped her back as she sat on her couch, watching Law & Order. She really liked the show and despite it being fictional, it had true protocols, which she was looking for.

"GOOD MORNING CONTESTANTS! BE DOWN AT THE FERRY TERMINAL WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR! IF YOU ARE LATE, YOU WILL RISK GETTING A PENALTY FOR YOUR TEAM!"

Gumshoos sighed as she turned off the television. She liked being early to certain events, so she was going to go ahead and go to the terminal. As she prepared to leave, though, she heard a knock at her door.

She opened it and saw Mudsdale standing there. "Oh, good morning Mudsdale."

"Hey", Mudsdale responded. "You wanna go get some breakfast?"

"Hmm...I was about to go on and head to the terminal…" Gumshoos replied.

"Why?" the large mare queried. "They said that we didn't have to be down there for another hour…"

"Yes, but it's just...I like to be ready. I actually woke up at 5 AM…." she explained.

"Wow…" Mudsdale stated in awe before chortling. "I can't open my eyes before 6:45 in the morning. Rest is best."

Gumshoos giggled. "I suppose we all have our own sleeping criteria…"

"Yeah. So, you sure you don't want breakfast?"

Gumshoos went back inside and looked at her alarm clock. It had 8:11 on it. Gumshoos was hesitant, but she decided to go with Mudsdale. What was the harm?

 **000**

Bewear and Pyukumuku were already back at the buffet area, which had eggs scrambled, sunny side up, and hardboiled, Sawsbuck and Grumpig sausages, bacon, pancakes, waffles, and cereal. The syrup, milk and juice were inside of drink and condiment dispensers at the right side of the area.

"I'm glad we got here early!" Pyukumuku said, sitting on the island counter where all of the food was. "You can still feel the steam from everything!"

"I thought that if you dried up, you died…" Bewear said, putting another waffle on his plate, which was stacked with bacon, eggs, pancakes, and waffles.

"Steam is okay", Pyukumuku responded. "I'll be fine", he said, using his organs to grab a strip of bacon and bring it into his mouth. "Mmm...crisp…"

Bewear squeaked, the way that he laughed. He moved over to the syrup dispenser and pressed it, accidentally breaking it and causing his paw to be coated in syrup. Ignoring the situation, he started licking his paw before wiping it over his food.

Bewear came back over with his paw still a bit sticky. He walked back over to Pyukumuku and picked him up, using his sticky paw.

Pyukumuku saw the broken syrup dispenser next to the drinks and grew concerned. "Uh...how did you break the syrup dispenser?"

"I broke it?" Bewear asked before turning around and seeing it dripping syrup. "Oh. Okay…"

He turned back around before going to another table and sitting down, shaking Pyukumuku off of his paw. Mudsdale and Gumshoos came through the door and upon seeing Bewear, Mudsdale paused and groaned.

"Muddy…" Bewear greeted, waving his arms.

"Okay, maybe going on to the terminal isn't that bad of an idea…" she stated before laughing sheepishly. "I mean, who needs breakfast anyway?"

Gumshoos' interest was piqued and she grabbed Mudsdale's tail before she could leave. "What's the harm in eating with them?"

"Gumshoos, please…" Mudsdale stated.

"Mudsdale, you were the one who suggested that we come down here in the first place. And now because Bewear is here you don't want to? That's pretty loathsome…"

Mudsdale groaned. "You don't understand the circumstances…"

"What circumstances?" Gumshoos asked as she continued walking towards the island.

Mudsdale groaned and against her better judgment, turned back around and headed toward the island, following Gumshoos.

 **000**

" **Something's up with Mudsdale. Why does Bewear irk her so much? He seems like a genuinely nice, goofy guy", Gumshoos stated. "And she said that they grew up together. If that's the case, they should be friends…"**

 **000**

" **I really don't want to talk about it…" Mudsdale said, looking down.**

 **000**

Incineroar was still snoring in his bed, his sheets untidy and strewn about. He had a bit of an uncomfortable time sleeping, as his fiancee would usually sleep close to him and he'd nuzzle under his neck. He didn't have anything like that there, so he had to cover his head with a pillow to finally get some rest. Now it seemed like he couldn't get up!

However, harsh banging on his door got his attention as he sprang up immediately, falling on his stomach out of the bed.

He groaned. "Arceus, damn it…"

The banging continued and he groaned again before getting back on his knees, his blankets wrapped around him.

"Incineroar! Come on man, we need to get down to the terminal in thirty minutes!" he heard Passimian shout. Incineroar huffed as he fully stood up and tossed his sheets back on his bed.

"I'll be down in a few minutes!" Incineroar shouted back as he walked to his bathroom. He looked in the mirror and sighed. He picked up the toothbrush and squeezed some toothpaste on it before running some water onto it and starting to brush his sharp teeth. He closed his eyes, imagining some events that usually happened in his household.

After a couple of minutes, Incineroar turned to use the toilet.

 **000**

Dhelmise was floating out of the buffet area and heading to the elevators when he noticed Shiinotic standing and staring in his direction. The guy caused him to feel extremely uneasy and he immediately phased through the floor to avoid contact.

However, once he was back in the lobby, he saw Shiinotic standing at the front door with his creepy smile plastered on his face. Dhelmise decided to just make himself invisible to avoid feeling the Illuminating Pokemon's piercing gaze.

He still felt the eyes, despite him vanishing and shuddered. He watched the clock strike 8:46 and decided to just sit in one of the chairs in the lobby, while still invisible.

"Alright. What am I going to do in this challenge?" he asked himself. "Or better yet, who can I fuck with and distract so that they cost their team the challenge?"

He started weighing his options. At the moment, the easiest person to manipulate seemed to be Tsareena, but she was on his own team. The only person on the other team that seemed capable of manipulation or distraction was Drampa due to his creeper/stalker-esque actions. He was unsure if Shiinotic was able to be manipulated, but he really didn't want to know.

After hearing the elevators and seeing Gumshoos, Mudsdale, and a few others exit them, he floated out of the chair he was in to go ahead and get a head start to the terminal as well. It wasn't the actual time, but there was no harm in being there early.

He looked back towards the door and saw that Shiinotic was no longer there. Sighing in relief, he made himself visible again before joining the group that was heading out.

 **000**

" **Hey, I may be a ghost, but Shiinotic is far more creepy!" Dhelmise expressed.**

 **000**

The girls from the Solgaleos were outside of Tsareena's room banging on her door. At the moment they had just ten minutes to get to the terminal and they had no idea if she was up or not.

"TSAREENA! ARE YOU UP!? WE HAVE LESS THAN TEN MINUTES LEFT TO GET DOWN TO THE TERMINAL!" Hakamo-o shouted while still banging on her door.

Lycanroc had her arms folded while leaning against the left wall next to the door, while Oricorio was standing to Hakamo-o's right.

"I know that there's nothing to hide. Plus, there's no lock; can't we just go inside?" Oricorio asked.

Lycanroc giggled. "I was thinking that the entire time. I mean, it's courtesy to knock, but if there's no answer and you know someone's probably still inside, you just go in or walk away."

Lycanroc gestured for Hakamo-o to move back before standing in front of the door and kicking it open with all of her might. The door swung open, hitting the wall.

"Uh...I don't think that was needed…" Hakamo-o said, giving Lycanroc a look of 'really?'

The three of them went inside and saw Tsareena sound asleep with earplugs in and a sleeping mask over her face.

"You have got to be-"

"FIVE MINUTES, COMPETITORS!"

Hakamo-o growled as she ripped the sleeping mask off of Tsareena's face and yanked out her earplugs, startling her awake.

"AHHH!" she shrieked. "WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM!?"

"Tsareena, we're all on a team. You're gonna cost us majorly because of your long dream!" Oricorio stated sternly.

"What's a competition?" Tsareena asked dimly.

Hakamo-o twitched.

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o wiped her face in a downwards fashion. "Why?...Just why?"**

 **000**

All of the competitors made their way out of the hotel and towards the ferry terminal, where a large ferry was waiting, with Solgaleo sitting in front of it.

Once they all arrived, Solgaleo started counting them all and saw that they were four players short. And to make matters even more aggravating...they were from _his_ team. He groaned.

"Where're the girls from the Solgaleos?" he asked.

Bewear, Dhelmise, and Pyukumuku exchanged glances, unsure.

"Well, since they're not here, does that really mean they get a penalty in the challenge?" asked Passimian, hopefully. With this team, he was going to need as many advantages as possible.

Soon enough, the four girls came into view as they approached the terminal; Hakamo-o was dragging Tsareena by her legs, while Lycanroc and Oricorio just followed suit.

"Uh...what's happened here?" asked Solgaleo, seeing the look of irritation on hakamo-o's face as she dropped Tsareena's legs.

"She literally JUST got up...AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAD TO WAKE HER UP!" Hakamo-o growled, turning back to glare at the Fruit Pokemon.

"Well, looks like you all have earned your team a penalty in today's challenge…" Solgaleo stated.

"What? That was for real?!" Lycanroc exclaimed, shocked. "I actually thought that it was just a lie to hurry us up…"

"Nope...you thought wrong", Solgaleo stated. "Now come on and follow me onto the ferry…" he said as a ramp lowered beside him, allowing him to climb up.

The others followed suit, with Tsareena being the last to board.

"Now, this will be our mode of transportation as we go from island to island for your challenges", Solgaleo explained. "If we find ourselves on your home island, you are not allowed to go home for ANYTHING. If we find out, you will be eliminated…" he explained as the boat began to leave the terminal.

"How come we can't go home?" asked Pyukumuku, sitting on Bewear's head. "It's not like we'd have anything spectacular under our beds or something that'll help us win…"

"This is strictly a competition. You are only supposed to be interacting with your fellow competitors", Solgaleo explained. "For all we know, you all could just run home, skip the challenge entirely, and just say you were there if your team wins."

"Come on. You have to allow us to have some freedom during these challenges!" Passimian insisted.

After some mumbles of agreement, Solgaleo groaned. He _was_ one of the hosts, but he was also nice, which was strange for these types of shows. "Fine", he stated. "You all will have only twenty minutes to be at home if and when we get to your island's city. IF we go to it, that is…"

"What does that mean?" asked Togedemaru, a bit suspicious.

"Oh you all will find out as the game progresses…" Solgaleo stated vaguely, causing a few to scratch their heads in interest. Gumshoos seemed to be the only one to get it immediately, while the others continued to ponder.

 **000**

" **Um...why are they trying to figure that out so badly?" she asked. "IF we go to it. For Arceus' sake, it means that we're not going to be exploring the islands in their entirety! We were born in different areas so, we may or may not end up around someone's home. It's that simple…"**

 **000**

Shiinotic took a deep breath as he stared out into the distance from the bow of the ferry. "LIFE'S different mysteries can be summed up in one word: kolpophobia. Only when we are able to bathe in the blood lactated by the nipples of elderly Nuzleaf are we truly able to see the dark world for what it really is. A cesspool of body parts and brain matter scattered into the oxygen as the tables in the sky break and stars blow up in the faces of horny Gogoat. Nobody knows why that happens. Nobody questions it, but…"

 **-000-**

"Okay, he is REALLY starting to scare me, now…" said Oricorio, as Shiinotic could still be heard in the background. "Who says these things and freaking...HOW?!"

"So, this form of you speaks in rhyme, huh?" Dhelmise noticed. "That's gonna get old really fast", he commented.

"Not as old as you giving your two cents on matters that don't concern you in the slightest…" Hakamo-o countered, sitting in a black recliner inside of the captain's quarters of the ferry. The boat was on autopilot, anyway, and the only ones inside were them. The others had gone to explore the rest of the boat, which wouldn't really matter, as they were approaching Melemele already.

 **-000-**

The other competitors were at the swimming pool and playing area in the middle of the ferry. Lycanroc did a front flip into the pool, splashing Mudsdale in the process as she kicked Drampa away from her.

Gumshoos, Tsareena, Bewear, Togedemaru, and Mudsdale were sitting around in lounge chairs, Drampa was currently knocked out, and Incineroar, Passimian, Pyukumuku, and Lycanroc were in the pool, the tiger wrestler floating on an inner tube.

"Man, I could get used to this if this is how is how we're supposed to be getting around every day", Lycanroc said, resting her arms around the back of her head as she floated at one end of the pool.

"I'm surprised that you're even staying afloat and willingly in there…" Mudsdale stated. "Usually rock-types just sink and want to avoid water altogether."

Lycanroc giggled before diving under the surface and swimming over in the direction of where everyone was sitting in chairs. She rose up and rested her folded arms on the edge. "I learned to swim when I was a Rockruff. Not all rock-types are scared of water", she said with a wink.

Mudsdale chortled in response. "I see…"

"I wish we could say the same for fire-types…" Togedemaru said, giving a fake giggle while watching Incineroar float around in his inner tube.

Apparently hearing that, Incineroar gave her a look. "Hey, I'm not scared of water in general!" Incineroar defended. "It's just large bodies of water. I can take showers and baths with no problem...as long as it's scalding."

A few of the others laughed to themselves, much to his embarrassment and annoyance; he blushed with a furrowed brow as the boat suddenly stopped, the horn blaring as smoke came from a pipe on the top.

"MELEMELE OFF THE PORT BOW!" Solgaleo roared from the open-air terrace above the captain's quarters.

Upon hearing that, they all either started getting out of the pool or heading to the bow.

 **000**

The ferry stopped at Melemele's Marina and the ramp lowered, allowing everyone to get off. After they all got off, Solgaleo lept off of the top and lept from the bow, landing in front of them; this left some of them in awe, while some others were indifferent.

"Was that truly necessary?" asked Dhelmise.

Solgaleo gave him a look. "Don't start with me. You're on the team with my namesake and already have a penalty…"

"Touche…"

"Now, follow me to the Pokemon Center. There, I'll explain the challenge…" Solgaleo explained.

They all headed their way to the Pokemon Center, with a couple of them engaging in casual conversation.

"What do you think the challenge is going to be?" asked Pyukumuku, who was still riding on Bewear's head.

"I don't know…" Bewear stated before speed walking forward, bringing himself next to Mudsdale, causing vexation for her. "Hi Muddy...what do you think the challenge is going to be?"

Mudsdale groaned. She wouldn't have responded, but it seemed to be a simple enough question; it was her opinion after all.

"I'm not sure, but hopefully something that deals with strength", she responded.

"Okay…" Bewear responded.

"So, how do you two know each other so well?" asked Pyukumuku. "I know you said you grew up together, but what did that entail?"

Bewear was about to tell him, but a death glare from Mudsdale silenced him. "Nothing…" he said, rubbing his left arm while looking upwards.

Pyukumuku was really curious, but after seeing Mudsdale glare at Bewear, he could piece together that things probably didn't go so well at one point for the two of them.

Passimian wasn't sure what he could do with the team he had. He felt that if he developed a strategy, the only ones that'd listen would be the same usual few.

They passed by the Malasada shop and immediately, Incineroar's stomach rumbled. He didn't really have a chance to eat breakfast due to taking a while in the shower due to...personal reasons, and the smell of fried dough was really getting to him.

"This sucks…" he commented.

"What?" asked Lycanroc, walking up next to him.

Incineroar didn't even get to reply, as his stomach answered for him as they made it passed the food spot and passed by City Hall.

Lycanroc giggled. "Aw...is the kitty hungry?" she teased.

"Ha ha…" Incineroar replied. "FYI. I didn't get to eat breakfast since I woke up late…" he lied.

"Well, next time make an alarm on the clock…" Lycanroc stated, folding her arms as the two continued following the others.

"This coming from a girl that likes to party and make sexual jokes and advances?" Incineroar queried, raising a brow with a chuckle.

"Hey, I may like to have fun, but I still have an alarm so I have time to do whatever I want…" Lycanroc explained.

"Pretty efficient…" Incineroar admitted.

"Thanks…" she replied before getting closer to him. "Maybe you can _adjust_ my night alarm and end up making me wake up as the same time as you~"

Incineroar couldn't help but blush before chuckling. His goal in this game was to get rid of major threats first-hand and deal with the weaklings later, but maybe having an ally in the mix wouldn't be that bad. That way if someone ever confronted him, he had some backup. However, to get her on his side, he'd have to again, reveal himself. He didn't want her thinking that he'd be leading her on and he wasn't interesting in cheating on his spouse.

 **000**

" **Alright...so, if I can tell Lycanroc about myself, hopefully she can take it and not go running her mouth…" Incineroar stated. "I'll need an ally and alibi if anything negative concerning me surfaces…"**

 **000**

"Okay…" Solgaleo started, standing before them all again. "Today's challenge is going to be rather tedious, but it's going to be very rewarding for everyone in the end."

"What is the reward in this situation? Is this not a challenge with elimination?" asked Oricorio.

"No, no. Someone WILL be eliminated", Solgaleo explained. "The reward is still going to be beneficial to everyone if they choose to keep them."

"Well, what's the reward, then?!" Dhelmise explained. "Suspense pisses me off!"

"You'll find out when the challenge is over…" Solgaleo explained. "Now, the challenge itself…"

"How many of you know about Z-Crystals?" he asked.

Almost everyone, who was able to, raised a hand, except for Tsareena, who was looking around.

"Who are you people?" she asked.

"We're the bosses of you...now keep quiet", Mudsdale stated.

"That's good, because your challenge today will be to collect Z-Crystals from around this city…" Solgaleo explained, causing a few others to stare and gape in shock. They looked around the large city.

"THIS PLACE IS MASSIVE!" Passimian exclaimed. "THIS'LL TAKE FOREVER, MAN!"

"FOREVER is the time paradoxal of eyeglasses passed through the fingernails of a Sawsbuck's anus…" Shiinotic stated, making Passimian twitch.

 **000**

 **Passimian was banging his head against the wall.**

 **000**

"I did say that this challenge was going to be tedious…" Solgaleo stated.

"And you also said it was going to be rewarding for all of us and that we'll find out when the challenge is over, but you just told us what the rewards were…" Gumshoos added.

"Wait...so we get to keep the Z-Crystals?!" Mudsdale blustered.

Solgaleo gave Gumshoos a look. "Thank you for ruining the surprise element", he said before turning his gaze back towards the entire group. "Yes, you get to keep the Z-Crystals that you find."

"So, does each team have to find-"

"Each team is responsible for collecting nine Z-Crystals. But, as a penalty for arriving late, the Solgaleos are responsible for finding three extra crystals, making their total twelve."

There were shouts of protest from the team, but Solgaleo ignored them. "I told you guys that there would be a penalty for the team whose players arrive late. So, sorry."

The Solgaleos all glared at Tsareena, who, confused, glared behind her. The Lunalas all had smirks on their faces.

"Now, here is a hint, there is at least one crystal in each building. Others are scattered around and hidden a bit more discretely…" Solgaleo explained. "Everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded, except for Tsareena.

"What are we doing again?" she asked.

"You're lucky you're hot…" Dhelmise commented emotionlessly.

"Alright. The challenge ends when a team brings all of their crystals back here to me. So feel free to bring some back as soon as you find them", Solgaleo said. "Now...GO!"

Both teams split up, minus Tsareena, who ran after her team a few seconds later.

 **000**

"Alright, what's the gameplan?" asked Lycanroc as their team settled in front of a large house.

"Well, thanks to the Brainless Beauty over there…" Hakamo-o started, gesturing to Tsareena, who was in the pool to the right of them. "...We've got twelve crystals to find and only seven of us."

"You really count that pretty dunce as an actual player?" Dhelmise asked. "She's more or less just here because she's hot; these shows always need to have 'the hot chick'…no matter how high the intelligence. Or low in this case..." he said, seeing Tsareena eat a single blade of grass. "Maybe lower…"

"Well, if we take her out, there's still six of us and twelve crystals", Pyukumuku said. "I mean, unless I did the math wrong…"

"No, you're right little man…" Lycanroc replied. "We can each find two crystals and then we'll be set. And if we end up finding more, it's even better!"

"Okay…" Bewear said.

"We have a chance, oh yes we do. Unless we fuck up, then we're screwed…" Oricorio said cheerily initially before turning a bit somber near the end.

"Hey, we can't think like that", said Lycanroc. "Come on, we can do this! Team Solgaleos!"

"TEAM SOLGALEOS!" everyone, minus Hakamo-o and Tsareena exclaimed.

Hakamo-o sighed. She agreed with them, but she couldn't bring herself to do the same thing as them. It just wasn't in her.

 **000**

" **Well, looks like my team may actually pull this off", Hakamo-o said. "They all surely have the determination, but I'm not sure about how this is going to be executed. There are bound to be hindrances…"**

 **000**

The girls and guys from the Lunalas had instantly separated from each other so that they could cover more ground quicker.

"The salon...how quaint…" said Gumshoos, looking at the hair products behind the front counter. "Lavender-Scented Hair Conditioner, NAIR, Wailord Wash, Liechi Shampoo…" she identified. "I wouldn't mind having some lavender…" she commented.

Mudsdale rolled her eyes in uninterest. "Why would you want to put chemicals in your hair instead of just leaving it natural?"

"Mudsdale, people just want their hair to feel different. Not all Pokemon have the same type of hair as you…" Togedemaru said.

"I know, only my species…" Mudsdale said. "I just don't get the appeal."

"Maybe it's not something you just get…" said Gumshoos as she headed towards the back, where she saw two black chairs with sinks behind them. Mudsdale followed suit, allowing Togedemaru to exit the salon.

The two girls heard the door open and close and turned back around to see Togedemaru no longer there. They ignored it and decided to continue their search.

 **000**

" **Ugh...I couldn't just stay in there", Togedemaru groaned, shuddering. "Everyone on this team annoys me in one way or another. But, they're all awful minus a select few. Meanwhile, the other team has many more useful players."**

" **I may have to shift my focus and try to make sure that they lose…" she said. "It'll make things easier for myself in the long run."**

 **000**

The Solgaleos had separated, with Tsareena falling asleep inside of the pool. Oricorio decided to take the house that they were in front of, while the others left the area.

She opened the black door with a sharp creek and immediately gaped at what she saw. She turned to the left and saw two doors next to each other with a table on the opposite side of them.

To her right, she saw a large red sectional sofa positioned in front of a television stand where a 72 in. flatscreen sat. There was a lamp next to the sofa. She noticed that the living room and kitchen were connected, similar to her own house. There was a dining room table a few feet away from the sofa next to a large window.

Curious, she flew over to the table and saw the kitchen area. There were a couple of pictures hanging on a support beam connected to the front counter, where there was a sink. There were numerous cupboards on the back wall and there was a microwave underneath them, also on a counter. To the right of it was a stove and oven. The refrigerator sat next to the rear counter. It seemed to be very fancy, as it had two separate doors for the freezer and fridge and a water dispenser on the freezer side. There were also extra drawers on the bottom and its overall appearance was shiny, as if it was just bought.

"Wow this place looks very clean. It looks like place fit for an independent queen…" she stated, looking around. She flew towards the refrigerator, wanting to see if there was anything inside, edible or non.

Opening the fridge, she just saw a carton of eggs, a jug of water and another of Cheri Punch, a six-pack of beer, cheese, and a paper bag with the Pecker's logo on it. She closed the fridge side and opened the freezer, seeing nothing but various types of frozen pizza-related foods. Pizza Rolls, Pizza Pouches, Pizza Logs, Pizza Sticks, Pizza Pizza…

"Who puts nothing in a freezer but pizza? Someone's gonna have major diarrhea..." she stated before closing the freezer side and starting to check the extra drawers. Opening the final one, she found a gray crystal with a snowflake symbol in it.

She smiled and picked it up with her pom-pom wings. "That was easy peasy lemon squeezy…" she said with a smirk.

She decided to go on and search the upstairs. Solgaleo said that there was at least one per house, but even though she already found it, she was curious as to what was upstairs.

 **-000-**

Flying up the stairs, the Dancing Pokemon passed by a potted plants and few rooms. She looked inside two of them and saw that they were empty. She saw that there was a specific tag hanging on the last door on the hall.

She entered that door and immediately saw a bed to her left and a table in front of her. There was a book with a Pokeball on it. There were numerous bookshelves to her right and there was a desk with computers and more books across the room. She started walking around, admiring trophies that were also on the desk.

She stared at the trophies, seeing her reflection in the shiny metal. "Wow…"

 **-000-**

 _A younger Oricorio was seen dancing in her Sensu Style on a stage in front of three judges: a Gardevoir, a Jynx, and a Mienshao. The flashing title "So You Think You Can Dance: Junior Edition" was behind her on the back wall._

 _There were forty folding chairs in the crowd behind the judges and almost all of them were full of parents, hers and those of other kids who were also competing._

 _She had been practicing this routine for months and was actually doing well as she finally finished with the waving of her fan-like wings. There was a bit of clapping from the audience, some enthusiastic claps coming from another Oricorio, which was sitting front row in her Baile Style next to a snoozing Toucannon, who was nudged seconds after and got up abruptly._

" _Well...that was...interesting…" the Mienshao, a very flamboyant one, stated. "Not that bad, but also...not that good."_

" _What are you talking about? That was completely ABYSMAL", the Jynx stated in a haughty tone. "Her footwork was disgusting, the movements were too robust, and the ending...ugh. Cliche and flashy at its finest…"_

" _Come on, it wasn't that bad…" the Gardevoir stated in a kind tone. "It was the equivalent of a Mudsdale taking a large poop and then sculpting it into something beautiful in appearance. But, it's still poop…"_

" _And based on those three critiques, we are happy to say that you will NOT be moving on to the next round…" the Mienshao stated, looking at a piece of paper in front of him. "You are free to leave…"_

 _Oricorio's eyes grew watery as she looked down, allowing a couple of tears to hit the floor under her as she flew off the stage and straight towards the exit._

 _Her parents exchanged worried glances before flying out after her._

 _She was found crying in a tree. She had practiced for MONTHS for this, and they completely put her down the entire time! Those who went before her who actually did worse than she did still got to move on to the next round or at the very least, they got a 'Try again next time' or 'you did well…'. But her, she got nothing but hate and criticism. It wasn't fair._

 _Her parents found her in the tree outside of the recreation center._

" _Honey...don't let them discourage you…" her mother said kindly, flying up next to her. "You're a wonderful dancer…"_

 _Oricorio just cried into her feathers as her father flew up and sat on the opposite side of her and wrapped his wings around them._

 **-000-**

Oricorio wiped her tears away before flying back out of the room with the Icium Z.

 **000**

" **Never...again…" Oricorio stated, wiping more tears away. "This is now and that was then. I'm going to be a winner in the end…"**

 **000**

Drampa didn't have any interest in the challenge, he was only scoping out all of the younger contestants around him. Sure, he was just 28, but his actions equated to that of a pervy old geezer.

He had watched Hakamo-o head into City Hall, her tail's swaying beckoning to him. He decided against it initially, finding Passimian and Incineroar much more fulfilling at the moment, but after being threatened by both of them, he slithered his snake-like body after her. Girl attacks he could take, boys...nope. He wasn't taking any chances.

He entered City Hall and, immediately looking forward, saw a front desk with a couple of computers and cabinets behind it with rolling chairs included. The rest of the place was full of green furniture. There were a couple of trees sitting in the middle of the joint and there was a television next to a small bookcase to the right of the front desk. There were seven couches on that side, six facing the television and one facing opposite against the same wall the television was hanging from.

In front of the desk were four couches and to the left were two on the front wall and one on the side with a circular couch around a tree in the middle of them.

"Yeesh...City Hall looks so tacky…" he commented before slithering to the front desk. He heard noises coming from the back room behind the front desk and flew over it before slithering to the back and seeing Hakamo-o turning over filing cabinets and ripping out drawers from desks.

Seeing this...actually aroused him and he smirked as she continued to wreck the office. He had to make sure she didn't see him, though.

"DRAMPA!" he heard her yell angrily.

Too late.

Hakamo-o exited the room she was in and glared at the Chinese Dragon-like Pokemon. "I promise...if you don't leave me the hell alone...I will make your life a LIVING HELL!"

"Come on, sweetie...you know-" he was cut off by a Dragon Claw to the face.

"Don't...call me...sweetie…" she growled as she stepped over his unconscious body to get out of the building. She turned back around, making sure the pervert didn't get up before hopping over the desk and heading straight to the door. She had searched the entire main area of City Hall, checking under the couch cushions and in the holes that trees were set in, but same up empty. Looked like City Hall was a bust. Or was it?

She was adamant that there was a Z-Crystal hidden here. All of the other doors were locked, so the back was the only real area she could check other the main front.

She hadn't checked the television or the bookcase thoroughly, so she went over to that area. When she was given information, she almost always believed it unless it was too farfetched. Even if it seemed to be untrue, she always wanted to be thorough. She needed to.

She went to the bookcase and tipped it over, making all of the book fall out, along with a couple of lollipops and a pink pen. No crystal.

"Damn it…" she whispered to herself. She looked up at the television and how it was set up on the wall. Much to her disbelief, there was a yellow Z-Crystal sitting between the wall mount and the television itself.

She reached up and snagged the Electrium Z with a smile. She eyed the crystal, which had a black thunderbolt inside, and heard a loud groan coming from the back. Growling, she immediately rushed out of City Hall as Drampa sat up.

 **-000-**

The Placid Pokemon shook his head to clear it of the ringing he was dealing with. He chuckled at Hakamo-o's stubbornness; it made her all the more attractive to him. Everyone in the game was attractive to him, with the exception of their legendary hosts.

He slithered back behind the desk and looked around, seeing no one there anymore. He scoffed. "Rude…" he stated.

 **000**

Bewear had carried Pyukumuku to the beach in order for the little guy to search around. The two of them had become fast friends, simply because of their rather childish and understanding personalities, though Bewear had a bit of unawareness with him.

Upon making it there, they saw that a couple of members of the Lunalas were already there. Passimian and Shiinotic to be specific. Shiinotic was staring at Passimian, who was digging numerous holes in the ground in an attempt to find Z-Crystals.

"Why would Solgaleo bury the Z-Crystals? What would be the odds?" asked Pyukumuku.

"I don't know…" Bewear said, shrugging, taking the Sea Cucumber off of his head and placing him on the ramp of the beachfront. He then turned to his right and saw Mudsdale leaving the salon with Gumshoos. "Muddy!" he exclaimed as he started running to her.

"Wait, Bew-" Pyukumuku started. "-and he's gone…"

Pyukumuku hopped back forward to see pink feet in front of him and a shadow over him. He looked up and saw Shiinotic smiling down at him.

Pyukumuku paled before screaming and hopping around him and down the ramp.

"There is no escape from the dongs of silence…" Shiinotic stated, still staring down.

Pyukumuku hopped to the left side of the beach, as Passimian had already made numerous whole everywhere else. He didn't believe that the crystal or crystals were buried, so he didn't dig for anything. Hopping around more, he saw something shiny beside the ramp wedged in a crevice.

Getting closer, he saw that it was a tan crystal with three jagged lines. He gasped. "Groundium Z!"

Hearing that, Passimian immediately paused and turned in the direction of the exclamation. He immediately rushed to the ramp and looked over the side, seeing Pyukumuku asleep. "What the-"

"No escape from the dongs of silence…" Shiinotic stated, suddenly in front of him.

Passimian jumped back out of surprise as Shiinotic picked up the Groundium Z. "No escape" he whispered as he handed it to Passimian.

"Uh huh…" Passimian said, hesitantly taking it from him before heading back to Solgaleo.

 **000**

Incineroar was inside of the Pokemon Center relaxing in a seat with a toothpick in his mouth. He had already found a Steelium Z from behind the Pokemon Center Cafe and had decided to make himself some Tapu Cocoa. He made sure that he put a LOT of milk in it, just as his fiancee did back at home.

He had also heated up an Oran Berry Danish that was in the packaging. He hadn't eaten breakfast, so this was his time. If someone criticized him for not helping the team, he couldn't care less. He couldn't really function that well on an empty stomach anyway.

Once he was finished, he left his trash on the table, not knowing where to put it. "Eh, it'll be fine", he said, picking up the Steelium Z. Despite him needing to sabotage his team for his plan to work, he also knew that he was going to actually help out and make it be known that he was in order to stay out of a bad light.

He headed outside and saw Solgaleo lying on the his side with a few Z-Crystals already before him. He didn't have them separated in any way, so the Heel Pokemon didn't know how many each team had.

He walked forward and tossed the crystal onto the ground next to the others.

"Nice work…" Solgaleo stated. "That's three for the Lunalas…"

Hearing that number, Incineroar mumbled to himself, but put on a fake smile before walking away with his fists clenched slightly. He started walking to his left, toward the beachfront. He noticed a couple of trucks along his way and stopped.

"Hmm...I wonder…" he started before walking back towards the red one that was next to the Pokemon Center. He hopped inside of the back and saw that nothing was there.

"Hmm…" He looked forward and saw a green truck directly across from the red one a few stores down.

He hopped out if the back of it and walked across the way, passing by stores and seeing a few other competitors inside. He saw Tsareena in the mall, sopping wet, Dhelmise was inside of the Salon, and Lycanroc was inside of the Apparel Shop.

It seemed that she noticed him passing by the window, because as soon as he entered the back of the truck, she exited abruptly, startling him as he fell back out of the truck.

"Ow...dammit!" Incineroar exclaimed.

Lycanroc giggled at his blunder. "You okay, tiger?" she asked as he picked himself up. He gave her a look. "I'm fine…" he said, fully standing up as he climbed into the back of the truck again to look. Lycanroc raised a brow. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"The challenge…" Incineroar responded vaguely, causing her to pout.

She got over it quickly though, and upon looking inside of the truck through the window, she spied a dark green crystal sitting inside. She couldn't identify the symbol, but who cared? It was a Z-Crystal nonetheless.

She needed to make sure that he didn't look inside to take it, and after hearing him huff and jump out of the back of the truck, she had a chance.

"Anything?" she asked.

"No…" Incineroar said. "Though...I didn't really check the insides-"

"I call it!" Lycanroc immediately blustered as she opened the door and snagged the Z-Crystal sitting on the seat.

"WHAT?!" Incineroar exclaimed as he watched her open the other door.

"Maybe checking the insides first should've been your plan…" she teased before hopping out and running back to Solgaleo.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. That girl was something else.

He didn't see her come out of the Apparel Shop with a Z-Crystal, so he decided to go on inside and check it out for himself.

 **000**

Dhelmise floated out of the salon looking much shinier than usual.

 **000**

" **Who knew they had anchor gel in there?" Dhelmise asked. "Now I look cleaner! Never thought a salon would actually be good for me…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise didn't find a Z-Crystal inside of the salon. He floated to the Apparel Shop, but upon peering inside, he saw Incineroar already there and groaned. He decided to go and check out the Alola Tourist Bureau, but saw Bewear, Mudsdale, and Gumshoos already inside. He groaned and continued his way towards the beachfront, passing by a crack in the wall. Getting closer, he saw something tannish shining from it. He got closer and used one of his seaweed tendrils to grab it.

He saw that the crystal had numerous shapes in the form of a rock. "Rockium Z in the crevice of a concrete wall. Pretty clever, I guess…"

He looked ahead and saw Shiinotic standing at one of the ramps at the beachfront and immediately turned around to go and give the Rockium Z to Solgaleo.

He approached the lion and dropped the Rockium Z before continuing to float and head south of the Pokemon Center. On his way, he passed by Lycanroc, who was searching in the grass.

"Uh...what are you doing?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be searching buildings like the rest of us?"

"With all of this grass around, you think that they wouldn't use it?" Lycanroc countered.

"Um...yeah", Dhelmise stated.

Lycanroc rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm gonna search anyway. You go on…"

"Whatever…" Dhelmise said as he moved forward and turned the corner.

"By the way, Hakamo-o already searched City Hall!" Lycanroc called.

"DAMN IT!" Dhelmise exclaimed, making Lycanroc snicker. If Hakamo-o had already searched City Hall and he didn't see her in any of the other stores that he passed back by, she was probably already searching the other stores down this road. He then thought about the ferry and how they had to pass by the terminal. It was still part of the city, so maybe there were crystals hidden there.

He phased into the ground.

 **-000-**

Dhelmise rose from the ground inside of Melemele's Ferry Terminal. He saw the numerous orange chairs and saw the front counter with the two gates on either side. He looked up and saw the listings in orange letters. He saw another counter with a gate to the left of that station. And looked to the right to see a vending machine in the back corner next to a trash can. In front of those, was a bookstand and a merchandise stand.

He started looking around the chairs, checking to see if any Z-Crystal was waiting for a ferry. He found that all of the chairs were empty.

"What the hell?" he asked. He went over to the merchandise stand. He saw only water bottles and Alolan Exeggutor trinkets there, so he groaned and moved to the bookstore, throwing them out with his ghostly abilities. Nothing was there either.

He moved over to the vending machine and trashcan. The trashcan was completely empty, strangely enough. He groaned and, out of curiosity, decided to see what all the vending machine had.

"Apricorn Pie, Pizza Pocket, Oatmeal Pinap Bar, Cheese-Os, Reeses, Nutella Bar, Dragonium Z-" he stopped mid sentence and gained a blank face before groaning.

He swung his anchor at the vending machine, smashing the glass as he got the dark bluish-green crystal with a sharp staff-like symbol inside.

"The odds of finding this thing would've been all too low", said Dhelmise. "Luckily I came here…" he said as he left the terminal.

 **000**

Togedemaru was inside of the mall at Antiquities of the Ages. She was intrigued by the orbs and plates that were there.

"Why would legendaries be dumb enough to have their key items be out in the open like this?" she asked herself as she inspected a Zap Plate.

She started rubbing it on herself, trying to see if the power of it would rub off on her. She used Thunderbolt on a nearby potted plant, only for it to have the same power level. She rolled her eyes before placing it back. "Worthless…"

She started heading back towards the stairs when she noticed Tsareena holding a light pink crystal with a mystical pattern on it. Her eyes widened.

"Shiny…" Tsareena said. "This _so_ matches by body…"

Togedemaru used Zing Zap, tackling into Tsareena and making her drop the Z-Crystal. She quickly picked it up as Tsareena lay on the ground.

"...How do I stand now?" she asked.

 **-000-**

Togedemaru walked towards Solgaleo with the Fairium Z before heading back to the mall to keep looking. She had only looked around the Antiquities of the Ages store and was still curious as to what else was in there. She had went directly up the stairs and to the right, ignoring the stores and heading to the shiny artifacts.

She didn't really care about the challenge, as she wanted her team to lose anyway. She only took the Fairium from Tsareena because she didn't want to hear anybody's mouth.

She entered the mall again, seeing Tsareena still lying on the ground. She sighed and shook her head before going directly to the right. She saw a store entrance and upon going inside, she saw that it was another Apparel Shop. She wasn't interested in anything that would be inside, so she just passed by it and saw another store straight ahead, but she saw that it was locked. Growling, she went to the left and headed up the stairs there, leading her right back to the Antiquities of the Ages.

"This mall fucking sucks", she stated as she passed by that store again, as well as the one with nothing but different bottle caps on it.

She heard her stomach start to growl and she smelled something sweet and crisp in the air. The smell led her to the shop that she initially ignored when she came up the first time. She entered the area and immediately saw an abandoned front desk that had a plate of food on it.

She could have sworn that the city was pretty much abandoned. She didn't trust this. "Where the hell did this come from?"

Her stomach growled again. She got closer to the plate and used her back needle to slide the plate down backwards. She went around the desk and hopped onto the high chair that was behind it. The plate of food contained mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, a Miltank Steak, and a bit of rice.

Her mouth water as she picked up the plastic fork sitting next to it. She started digging into the plate. She looked around the place and saw six tables to her left. Four in the front with four chairs each, and two near the back with six each.

Looking behind her, she saw that there were numerous tables and counters with food on them behind her. She dropped her fork and stared in awe. All of the food was still steaming, which confused her a bit, but she didn't care. She left the plate on the desk and hopped over the small railing behind her, rushing to the other foods.

"Eeee!" she squeaked, her cheeks lighting up in delight as she ran around, staring at all of the foods. "Buttered biscuits!? Crème brûlée!? Baked Alaska!? Cheri Berries Jubilee!? Baked Macaroni!? Deviled Eggs!? Smørrebrød!? Baklava?! Kanafeh?! Spare Ribs!? Pot Roast?! PENNE RIGATONI?!" I'M IN HEAVEN!" she exclaimed as she grabbed herself a new plate and started going around.

 **000**

 **Togedemaru was stuffing her face with all of the food she gathered.**

 **000**

Bewear was still following Mudsdale and Gumshoos. No matter how many times Mudsdale yelled at him to stop, he continued anyway. He had no ideas as to why she was being so mean to him. They had been friends for most of their lives, though, after what they had done, he was sure that they'd become more than friends.

"Bewear...for the last time...LEAVE ME ALONE!" she exclaimed as she and Gumshoos headed into the Malasada shop. They had just given Solgaleo a Darkinium Z from the grass on the side opposite of the mall.

Bewear stayed outside and looked down. He looked to his right and saw a purple crystal in front of a building across from the Malasada shop. He picked it up and saw that it had a black symbol that resembled a skull-and-crossbones.

"Poisonium Z. Yay…" he said as he suddenly remembered at he and Mudsdale were on opposing teams in the competition. He always lost concentration when Mudsdale was involved. He was supposed to be crushing her in the competition!

He quickly ran back to Solgaleo to give him the Poisonium Z.

"Congrats! Your team has seven. You need five more…" Solgaleo stated. "May wanna hurry, though...the Lunalas just need four more…"

Passimian came up and tossed a red crystal, with a symbol resembling Incineroar's face inside of it, onto the pile.

"Make that three more needed for the Lunalas…"

" _We're actually pulling this off...thank Arceus…"_ Passimian thought as he headed back towards the beachfront.

Bewear decided to go back to the Malasada shop, hoping that Mudsdale and Gumshoos hadn't found a Z-Crystal there just yet. He quickly rushed to the Malasada shop and ripped the door from the hinges before tossing it away. However, he saw that the place was empty and that the place was practically ransacked already.

He was a bit confused, which wasn't surprising, but he started looking around anyway. He walked around, inspecting broken tables. After seeing nothing underneath the tables, he moved to the tables built into the wall, which were still standing.

 _SMASH!_

Well, emphasis on _were_.

Bewear had smashed the tables, separating them from the wall in order to search underneath them, as if someone else hadn't done it already.

Coming up short, he walked towards the trash cans near the back and tossed them out of their positions. Seeing nothing behind them, and finding nothing on the insides, Bewear groaned.

"This sucks…" he commented as he headed back out of the shop.

 **000**

Passimian was searching the yellow truck, looking under the wheels and in the back of the truck before looking in through the front windows. Nothing.

He cursed to himself before noticing that Shiinotic was still standing in that same spot, staring. Pyukumuku continued trying to get away from the area, but Shiinotic kept using Sleep Power and stating "No escapes".

The thoughts of it just made him shudder. He felt back for the little sea cucumber, but if that's what it took for them to win the challenge...it still wasn't really worth it. Passimian groaned. His team was in the lead anyway. Maybe helping the little guy escape wouldn't do much anyway.

"Shiinotic!" he called, as the mushroom turned to him abruptly, making him jump a bit. "Uh...you can stop making Pyukumuku sleep now. We're close to winning!"

Shiinotic just continued to stare at him, making him feel uneasy as this dragged on for a while. The lemur went behind the truck and jumped down to pick up Pyukumuku before rushing away.

Shiinotic continued staring.

 **-000-**

Passimian brought Pyukumuku to the front of the Pokemon Center before deciding to search the house. He passed by the hedges and looked around the lawn. He eyed the pool for a few seconds before deciding to just entering the house.

 **000**

Pyukumuku regained consciousness and found himself in front of the Pokemon Center.

"Ugh...what happened?" he groaned.

"I don't know…" Solgaleo responded. "Ask Passimian. He brought you here…"

Pyukumuku sighed. "I almost had a Groundium Z, but then I fell asleep. I feel like failed."

"Ah, don't feel that way. You'll be fine. At least you actually found one…" Solgaleo explained.

Pyukumuku started looking around before hopping towards the grass behind the Sunne Pokemon. He started feeling through the grass with his white innards-hand.

Oricorio flew down with a blue crystal with a black stylized raindrop inside of it.

"You all still need four more…" said Solgaleo.

Oricorio nodded before seeing Pyukumuku in the grass sifting through it. She flew over the gate and started looking along with him.

"How long have you been looking here? We're not as far, we're actually near…" Oricorio said.

"Uh...I just started searching here. Solgaleo says that Passimian brought me over here because I somehow fell asleep next to a Groundium Z", Pyukumuku explained.

"Passimian you say? Why would he do that? Unless he knocked you out, that fucking asshat…." Oricorio said, gaining a glare. "Keep looking, Pyuku, we're awfully close. Passimian, however, he is toast…"

"Wait, wh-" Pyukumuku started before Oricorio flew upwards.

"He's in that house…" Solgaleo stated, gesturing to the house that she'd already searched.

Oricorio nodded and flew back to the house, making Pyukumuku sigh.

 **000**

" **Are people always going to leave me alone in challenges?" Pyukumuku asked. "If they are, then this is going to suck for me…"**

 **000**

Oricorio entered the house, opening the door with a SLAM. Passimian jumped at the sudden slam and saw Oricorio staring at him as he searched the sofa cushions.

He noticed her threatening gaze, but figured that it was just because of it being a competition. After a bit of grappling, he finally pulled out a Z-Crystal, which was light purple with a black wisp inside.

"Yes!"

Oricorio swooped over and took it from his paws before heading back out.

"HEY!" Passimian shouted as he lobbed his berry in her direction, only for it, to miss her. He growled, but didn't even bother to go after her. Solgaleo was at a relatively short distance from the house, so he wouldn't have caught her in time. He punched the cushion in frustration.

He had already looked around the upstairs and kitchen and tried getting into the locked doors with no success, so he decided to go outside.

He went forward and saw Shiinotic dropping a light green crystal with a beetle symbol inside of it onto the rest of the pile.

"What the-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he looked up in the air and saw Drampa soaring through the air and landing on the roof of the Pokemon Center. Groaning, he slid off and dropped onto the ground, coughing up a red crystal in the process.

He quickly rushed over to get it, but Shiinotic beat him to it and tossed it in Solgaleo's direction before picking up Drampa's head and smiling.

"The donkeys of the universe have infiltrated your buttocks...congratulations…" he stated.

"And on that disturbing note…" Solgaleo stated as Passimian came up. "THE LUNALAS HAVE WON THE FIRST CHALLENGE!" he shouted loud enough for all of the other competitors to hear across the city.

Passimian was completely shocked. The two who he thought were the weakest links actually helped them get the win. He just had one curiosity though.

"Drampa...what the hell happened?" he asked.

Drampa's eyes widened.

 **-000-**

 _Hakamo-o was exiting the Police Station next to the Malasada shop._

" _Finally! That took WAY too long…" she said, admiring the Firium Z in her clutches. Drampa slithered over and immediately put her hands into his mouth._

 _Hakamo-o twitched, as Drampa sucked on her arms slowly. She yanked them both out before realizing that she had lost the Firium Z._

" _You sick FUCK!" she exclaimed, using Sky Uppercut on the Placid Pokemon, sending him flying._

 _ **-**_ **000-**

"I plead the fifth…" he replied as Shiinotic dropped his head and everyone began gathering back around the Pokemon Center.

"Alright, Lunalas, you all have won the first challenge, so Solgaleo's when we get back to Akala, prepare to vote…" Solgaleo said, a bit of disappointment in his voice.

The Solgaleos looked down, while the Lunalas had smiles on their faces.

"Let's head back to the ferry…" said Solgaleo.

As they all headed back toward the ferry, Dhelmise had a sudden realization. "Wait...where the hell is Tsareena?"

"She's in the mall lying on the floor like an idiot…" Togedemaru said, holding a bowl of Crème brûlée, tan cream all around her mouth.

"She's WHAT?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, turning back around.

"Yeah, ever since she tripped over nothing and dropped the Fairium Z, she's been lying there ever since", Togedemaru lied.

"You're kidding…" Lycanroc said exasperatedly.

"She's not here and I'm the only one who saw here there, so I guess you just have to take my word for it", Togedemaru said, shoveling another spoonful of the dessert into her mouth as she continued following her team.

"Solgaleos! Pick up the pace!" Solgaleo roared.

Lycanroc sighed. "I'll go back for her…" she said as she started running back to the mall as the others continued walking to the ferry.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc walked into the mall and saw Tsareena, just as Togedemaru described, lying on the floor like an idiot.

"Tsareena...what the heck are you doing?!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"How do you walk, again?" Tsareena asked. "I've fallen and I can't get up…"

Lycanroc facepalmed herself before helping Tsareena back on her feet.

"Wow...how'd you do that?"

Lycanroc sighed.

 **-000-**

They returned to the ferry, where the ramp was just starting to rise. Quickly, the two of them got on and slid down onto the ship.

"Nice timing…" said Pyukumuku.

 **000**

The boat returned to Akala Island and they all started leaving the ship via ramp. While the Lunalas went ahead, Solgaleo made his team stay back.

"Alright, when you get to the hotel, you have just ten minutes to converse amongst yourselves and decide who you're voting for. You make your votes in the confessional and when I call you all, you all meet me back in the front of the hotel. Understood?"

"But, isn't it almost your bedtime?" Dhelmise questioned, causing Solgaleo to give him a death glare.

"Uh...now's not the time, huh?"

"Just go…" he stated.

The Solgaleos immediately headed back to the hotels, catching up to the Lunalas.

 **000**

Hakamo-o punched the wall in her room, where everyone else was, minus Dhelmise and Tsareena.

"I can see that you're upset…" Lycanroc commented, sprawled out on Hakamo-o's couch yet again.

"Of course I'm upset!" she exclaimed. "We lost the first challenge!"

"Well, at least we have somebody to blame for it…" said Pyukumuku. "That's probably why Dhelmise didn't come since it's all too obvious…"

"Yeah…" Bewear added as he stood up. "I'm going to seventh floor…" he said as he left the room.

"And I guess I'm going, too…" Pyukumuku said, as he was sitting on his head.

Hakamo-o sighed as they left.

"Girl, you have _got_ to loosen up…" Lycanroc said as she stood up. "We're gonna lose challenges. It's a competition. We're not going to be perfect."

"I know that!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Then why so angry?" asked Oricorio. "Also, not saying you should be filled with glee…"

"I wanted there to be NORMAL players here! People who actually take the game seriously!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "No offense, but it seems like majority of those people are on the other team and they actually WON with two...whatever you wanna call Shiinotic and Drampa there!"

"Hey, we're just as serious about this game", Lycanroc replied. "You're just taking this all too fast and looking at the smaller picture!"

"Yeah, Lycanroc's right", Oricorio stated. "We wanted a fair fight. Tsareena had gotten us a penalty, though, so the idea of victory was a bit shaky, but still in sight!"

"We had a plan…" Hakamo-o countered. "Victory COULD have been ours if we didn't have her on our team! How many crystals did each of us even find?"

"Well, all I know is that I got my two crystals…" Lycanroc said, folding her arms.

"I got three…" Oricorio stated.

"And I got two. I would've had three if that bastard Drampa hadn't put in mouth around my hands…"

"Eww…"

"Don't remind me…" Hakamo-o replied. "What about the guys? According to Togedemaru, Tsareena actually found ONE."

"Pyukumuku had found one, but I think Passimian knocked him out or something else was done, because he said that he had found a Groundium Z and then suddenly became drowsy. He woke up in front of the Pokemon Center and Solgaleo said that Passimian brought him in front of where you enter", Oricorio explained.

"So Pyukumuku came up with nothing because of a circumstance…" Hakamo-o said. "At least he has a reason. "I'm not sure what Dhelmise and Bewear brought, but they're both useful. And based on all of this, and the fact that Tsareena LOST her crystal because she _tripped_. She's definitely gone…"

"I guess I can agree to that…" said Lycanroc as Oricorio nodded.

"SOLGALEOS! REPORT BACK DOWN TO THE FIRST FLOOR TO CAST YOUR VOTES!"

"Well, looks like it's time…" Lycanroc said as she headed to the door, with the other two following suit.

 **000**

All of the Solgaleos made it to the lobby, where Solgaleo was standing, bags under his eyes. It was nearing 6 PM, so he needed to finish this up quickly.

"Alright, all of you go inside and place your vote. To do so, just say who you want eliminated and step outside", Solgaleo explained with a yawn. "I'll review all of the votes and I'll let you all know who is still in and who is going home…"

"I call first…" said Dhelmise as he floated into the confessional first.

 **000**

" **Out of everyone...I say...Tsareena. For obvious reasons…" Dhelmise said.**

 **000**

" **Duh…" Hakamo-o said, rolling her eyes.**

 **000**

" **Sorry Tsareena…" Pyukumuku said.**

 **000**

" **Tsareena", Bewear stated.**

 **000**

" **Seeya Tsareena…" Oricorio said, waving a wing.**

 **000**

" **I'm going with the majority for once...sorry girl", Lycanroc said.**

 **000**

" **Uh...why am I here again?" Tsareena said, looking around.**

 **000**

Everyone was outside waiting in front of the fountain. Soon enough, Solgaleo came out with a large yawn.

"Alright, I reviewed the recordings and it seems that pretty much all of you voted for Tsareena…" said Solgaleo.

"Voted for me for what?" asked Tsareena.

"You're going home…" Solgaleo said exasperatedly.

"What's home?"

"JUST GO TO THE TERMINAL!" Hakamo-o and Dhelmise both exclaimed.

"The rest of you head back inside, I'll escort her back to the ferry terminal", Solgaleo stated as he started walking with Tsareena to the dock, where a motorboat was waiting with a Simisage driving it.

"Get on board…" Solgaleo stated.

"On what?"

Getting fed up, Solgaleo picked her up by her fruity 'hair' and carried her to the back of the boat. The Simisage immediately started driving away, allowing Solgaleo to sigh.

"And there we have it folks, our first eliminated contestant is...Tsareena! What will the remaining competitors have to deal with next time and who will be eliminated next? Find out next time on Total Pokemon: Alola!" Solgaleo closed before promptly falling asleep.

 **000**

 **That...was long. But I guess it's okay considering the action that we got out of it. Hopefully some of you got to know the characters a bit more. Tsareena got eliminated first. Was there any real surprise there? Honestly? Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you all next time on Total Pokemon: Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **What am I supposed to say again?" Tsareena asked**

" **PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW LONG OR SHORT IT IS!"**

" **Um...what's a review?" she asked.**

" **RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"**


	3. Episode 3: Brooklet Hill Hijinks

**Here we go…**

 **000**

Tsareena had been eliminated just three days ago. It was now the Monday of the next week. It wasn't that obvious, but it could be assumed that the challenges were going to be held on Mondays and Fridays. The show was only going to be going on for ten weeks, after all.

 **000**

Incineroar was snoring yet again in his bed in the hotel. This time, it seemed like he had added extra sheets to his bed in order to weigh down the others and ensure that they stayed over him. The Heel Pokemon was panting and drooling in his sleep, his tail unconsciously raised, having probably the most lucid dream he's had there.

However, that dream was soon interrupted by banging at his door. The sounds immediately woke him out of his slumber, causing him to growl. He looked at the clock next to him and saw that it was 10:49 AM. He rose up, wiping his mouth of his drool. The banging had changed into knocking at the door, and, not wanting to leave the bed just yet due to an 'uprising in the south', he decided to yell back.

"WHAT?!"

"Finally!" the voice replied. It was Passimian. "Aren't you gonna come get breakfast? It's almost 11:00!"

Incineroar groaned. "I like to sleep in!" he replied. "I'll...I'll be down there later", he said, staring at his crotch, which had a bulge noticeable even through the numerous sets of sheets.

"Alright, then", said Passimian.

Incineroar groaned. "Is it too much to just sleep in around here? If they didn't wake us up early, why would I care about waking up?"

He realized that he couldn't go back to sleep now, so he decided to go ahead and turn on the television before rising up out of the bed, his 'soldier' still standing at attention, much to his embarrassment. " _Dammit, babe. Only thinking about you causes this to happen…"_

He headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

 **000**

On the seventh floor, Pyukumuku was snoozing in a bean bag chair as Bewear lifted weights while staring at the television. The program that was playing was a soap opera, weirdly enough, and the Strong Arm Pokemon was very invested.

"No...Karol…" he said in dismay, continuing to pump the iron in his paws.

Bewear had gotten up at 4 AM to come up here. But, wanting to have company, he broke into Pyukumuku's room and brought him up there with him. He didn't want to disturb the girls' rest and he was sure that Dhelmise wouldn't be interested at all. Plus, Pyukumuku was probably the nicest one on the team, to him.

He heard someone coming towards the area. He recognized the footstep pattern almost instantly, his ears twitching. Mudsdale entered the room, and upon seeing Bewear, was both unsurprised and annoyed.

Normally, Bewear would have greeted her, but he knew that she'd just reject it and probably leave. So, he decided to keep his focus on the soap opera. Mudsdale raised a brow initially, confused, but she gained a smile afterwards.

 **000**

" **Huh...maybe he finally gets it…" Mudsdale said.**

 **000**

Mudsdale went over to a large treadmill and found that someone needed to set the speed and turn it on for her so she could get her run on.

She looked at the video game half of the floor and saw Pyukumuku asleep in a chair, meaning that speaking to Bewear was her only option. She sighed.

"Bewear…" she started, begrudgingly.

He either didn't hear her or he was just that focused on the soap opera. She's known him for years, so she knew that he couldn't focus on things for long periods of time. He was ignoring her, which was weird for him.

"BEWEAR!" she shouted, unintentionally causing Pyukumuku to stir in his sleep.

This time, the bear turned around, still lifting his weights. Now with his attention, she huffed. "Why were you just ignoring me?"

"You don't like me…" he said immediately.

Mudsdale...didn't really have a response to that. She didn't _despise_ him or anything, he was just annoying and too clingy in her eyes. She sighed. "Even so. Could you help me out with the treadmill WITHOUT smashing it?"

Bewear dropped his weights and walked over to her. He pressed the 'Start' button on the treadmill. The belt started moving and Bewear started to leave, only to be called back by Mudsdale.

"Bewear, I'm not done!" she called, making the bruin stop and turn back around. "Can you adjust the incline and increase the speed, too?"

Bewear stared blankly at her for a few seconds before holding the incline button, making the treadmill rise up on one side, making it into a ramp. He then repeatedly hit the 'Speed' button, increasing the speed to 75 miles per hour. Once he did so, he went back to his weights and started lifting them again.

She rolled her eyes before hopping onto the treadmill and started to run.

 **000**

" **If Muddy doesn't like me and we're on opposing teams, why is she suddenly asking me to do things for her?" asked Bewear. "It's confusing…"**

 **000**

Hakamo-o, Lycanroc, and Oricorio were inside of Lycanroc's room this time, as coming to Hakamo-o's room every time was just going to get old and annoy her. With her serious nature, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

They had only been at the hotel for five days now and Lycanroc's room was already a wreck. The lamps were knocked over, her sheets were strewn about, her headboard had numerous claw marks, her pillows were ripped, and her TV was tilted to the side a bit. Her drapes were also shredded.

"What….the hell happened in here?" asked Hakamo-o, looking at the carnage.

Lycanroc giggled. "You should see my room at home…it's worse…"

Oricorio, who was in her Baile Style once again, shook her head. "Why did this happen, señorita?"

"I don't know. It's a sleep thing. My dreams are _really_ vivid and sexy sometimes, which is why the bed is like that, but then I also have extremely bad nightmares sometimes and I end up fighting things in my sleep and wake up on the floor or somewhere else…" Lycanroc explained sheepishly.

"That's...weird…" Hakamo-o commented as Lycanroc sat on her partially broken couch.

"Yeah, maybe, but oh well…" said Lycanroc. "Can't do anything about it…"

Oricorio peered at the clock next to her bed, which was somehow still in one piece, and saw that it was 11:23. Usually they'd be at a challenge by now, but it seemed like it was going to be another day of doing nothing.

"How long do you think it's going to be before we have another challenge?" Oricorio asked.

"It's been two days…not counting today", said Lycanroc. "I'm sure we'll have one soon enough."

"And hopefully with Tsareena gone, we'll actually be successful…" Hakamo-o added, taking a seat on Lycanroc's bed.

The wolf yawned before turning on the AC near the couch.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, seeing this.

"What? I'm hot…" Lycanroc replied, raising her head over the vents.

"Well just...be sure to turn it off soon. I uh...I hate the cold…" Hakamo-o replied.

"You're a dragon-type, so that's to be expected…" Oricorio giggled, causing Hakamo-o to give her a look.

"Thanks for that…" Hakamo-o said as she reached for the remote, which was on the floor with Lycanroc's sheets.

She pressed the Power button, turning on the TV, which immediately showed static. "What the-" she started. "Does your TV not work?"

"Considering that it's got a small crack near the top and is tilted, I say...si", Oricorio said, flying over to the edge of the television and pointing out a crack.

"Oops…" Lycanroc replied sheepishly. "Looks like I won't be having any TV in here…"

"Sheesh, your nightmares must be more than bad if you're able to break the TV by giving it a small crack…"

"Don't you see my ripped drapes?" she replied, pointing to her ripped drapes still hanging from the window. "I think that's enough evidence of how things go when I have nightmares…"

"Fair enough…"

"So chicas, if we aren't having another challenge today, what do you think we should do?" Oricorio asked, flying to the overturned lamp.

The other two exchanged looks. There wasn't really that much _for_ them to do. The only things that the hotel seemed to have was video games and a weight room. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Lycanroc wasn't into exercise and loved video games, while Hakamo-o despised video games and loved to exercise and train; they couldn't really have fun together if they went up there.

"Well, I don't think there's much-"

Lycanroc suddenly gasped with a smile, getting an idea. "We can go to the beach!" she exclaimed giddily. "They didn't say that we couldn't leave the hotel when they weren't around, so this is the perfect opportunity!"

"Uh...I'm not so sure…" Hakamo-o said, blushing a bit. "I mean, what's the point?"

"To have fun, girl!" Lycanroc said, rising up and going over to sit next to her. "Think about it. Sun, sand, fresh air, swimming, it's perfect!"

"Uh...not sure I get the appeal…" Hakamo-o replied.

"Come on señorita. It shall be muy divertido!" Oricorio cheered, flying back onto her head scale. "Perhaps we can invite some of the señors to come with us~"

"Oh...I'm definitely down for that…" Lycanroc said with a libidinous smile. "Incineroar will be putty in my hands when he sees me all wet. Speaking of that. If we're gonna go to the beach, we're gonna need bathing suits!"

"Um...Lycanroc, we don't wear clothes anyway", Hakamo-o replied. "What's the point?"

"To look sexy for the guys!" Lycanroc replied. "Come on, Haka, you can't be _that_ lost when it comes to fun can you?"

Hakamo-o sighed. "What I think is fun is different from everyone else's perception of it…"

"Okay...well, what do you find fun, chica?" asked Oricorio.

"Training…"

Lycanroc and Oricorio sat in silence for a few seconds, expecting her to say more.

"And…?"

"That's it. I just like to train", Hakamo-o responded. "I was always put down as a Jangmo-o since I was a girl and I kept losing battles to other guys. Everyone around called me weak and I hated it! So, I just started training and not stopping. Eventually, I evolved before everyone else because of it and they started to hate me more because I was stronger than they were…"

Lycanroc and Oricorio gave her sympathetic looks.

"I just ended up shutting down and never leaving my house because of all of the dirty looks and threats I got and I wasn't really interested in what other girls were doing since they labeled me as quote, 'The Butch Bitch'. So, sorry if I'm a bit weird…"

"No need to apologize at all", Lycanroc said. "Everyone's weird in their own way. I mean, look at this room!" she reminded. "And Oricorio's got her daily form change deal going on. You're perfectly fine…"

Hakamo-o actually cracked a small smile. "Okay, I guess. But I'm not wearing a swimsuit."

"Fine…" Lycanroc said, rolling her eyes before standing up. "Now, let's get going!"

Oricorio and Lycanroc headed to the door, with Hakamo-o staring at the ground for a few seconds before letting out a breath and following them.

 **000**

" **I feel bad for Hakamo-o", Lycanroc expressed. "Being shunned for being different should never happen to anyone; now she's all...weird and doesn't know how to just have fun. Well, luckily, I'm on the case."**

 **000**

" **Lycanroc's such a wild card…" Hakamo-o said. "I mean, I'm glad she's trying to help me, but we're two different people and I'm not sure how things are gonna go."**

" **I like being serious because it keeps me on track with what I'm doing", she continued. "I mean, sure, I don't do a lot of fun things, but what is the point of fun if it's really different for everyone? Not everyone likes the same things…"**

 **000**

Gumshoos was watching Law and Order once again in her room. It wasn't a marathon like it was yesterday, much to her dismay. However, the few episodes that were on were bound to be helpful and entertaining for her.

She had always been interested in these kinds of shows. Any type of show about investigations and jail, she loved. Because of this, she was always considered the oddball in high school. She never went to parties, she hardly made friends, she was the only one who turned in every assignment on time and didn't complain when a vast amount of homework was given in a short period of time.

She didn't mind all of this, though, as she had a vision for herself and was going to go for it no matter what anyone said. Her stomach rumbled slightly and she held it a bit. "Ooh...shouldn't have drunk all of that Pinap Juice", she commented as she got off of her bed and headed to the bathroom.

After a minute, she returned, wiping her hands with a towel. However, she saw someone that made her jump back in surprise and slight fear. Shiinotic.

The Illuminating Pokemon was sitting on her bed, staring at the television. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her.

"Um...Shiinotic? What the hell are you doing in my room?" she asked, vexation evident in her tone.

She got no response, as he continued staring. Like an ignored wife, she stood in his way of the television, but his gaze seemed to pierce right through her, making her move instantaneously. She growled. "Shiinotic!"

The mushroom being didn't budge. She got closer, though she didn't want to, and waved her hand in front of his face.

"LAW!" he started, causing her to jerk her hand back and take a few steps back. "It is the form of the aristocracy for the bloody Miltank teets that enter us through our bowels and exit through our tracheas. We don't know goes on up there, but it feels pretty damn good, like a Tentacruel sucking all of its tentacles and getting blazed by a Jellicent while a Wailord watches from the sun. Criminality is just when we all just sit around on large Pineco and let the sharp point stab our buttcheeks while blood oozes from the mouths of Jynx who've been doing fellatio on a Ditto. Yeah…"

Gumshoos didn't respond to that and just decided to leave her room. If he was there, she knew that she was going to lose braincells.

She closed the door behind her and started rubbing her temples. "Why does everything he say make no sense at all? It must be a mental disability or _something_ …"

She pressed the up button for the elevator, wanting to find Mudsdale and see what she was up to. When the elevator doors opened, she paled, as she saw Shiinotic standing inside with his smile. "There's no escape from the dongs of silence…" he spoke, the same thing he had told Pyukumuku before using Sleep Powder on him.

" _The stairs it is_ …" Gumshoos said in her head as she turned around and the elevator doors closed. She walked down the hall until she found a door that had a sign to the right of it with the word 'Stairs' and an arrow pointing in the direction of the door.

She pushed open the door and immediately saw Shiinotic standing behind it. "No escapes…" he whispered creepily.

Gumshoos twitched before running back toward the elevator and pressing the button repeatedly while looking behind her. The doors opened again, showing the Illuminating Pokemon again, with his same smile. Gumshoos growled and entered the elevator before throwing him out and pressing the seventh floor button. The doors closed and it went up.

 **000**

Passimian and Incineroar had gone to the seventh floor to play a few video games. Mudsdale, distracted by the noise influx coming from the television, groaned and decided to leave. She was going to go take a walk around the island.

"Bewear!" she said, nudging his back, making him drop his weights.

He turned around and looked up at her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable

"Uh...could ya by chance turn off the treadmill?" she asked. "I'm about to head out."

"Can I-"

"NO" she said sternly. "Could you just do this for me without wanting something in return? I'm not doing anything huge. I'm just going out…"

Mudsdale turned around and started heading to the elevator, only to suddenly feel extra weight on her back. She stopped and turned around to see Bewear on her back. She groaned and sat down, only for Bewear to tilt in the direction of her back, as he was clinging to her side. Her eyes widened at this.

"BEWEAR!" she exclaimed.

The Strong Arm Pokemon released, making himself slide onto the ground on his back. She rose back up and went back to the elevator, only for Gumshoos to step out and accidentally bump into her.

"Oh. Hey Mudsdale…"

"Hey Gumshoos", she greeted back. "I know you're not here for what's over there", Mudsdale joked, gesturing to the games and exercise equipment…"

"Yeah, you'd be right in that regard…" Gumshoos replied. "I actually came here to see what you were doing…"

"Oh, I was just running, but those two had their game too loud and it was very very annoying…" she explained, shaking her head.

Gumshoos giggled. "Understandable. The sound of whatever they're playing is bound to cause agitation and loss of focus…"

"Uh huh…" Mudsdale replied. "Well, I'm about to go for a walk. You wanna come?"

"Fine with me…" said Gumshoos, pressing the elevator button again. "I think I need something calming after what just happened…"

The elevator doors opened and the two stepped inside, still talking. Passimian and Incineroar had paused their game to listen to the conversations, as Pyukumuku, who had moved to a weight stand, did as well. Once the girls left and they saw Bewear still lying on the ground, they exchanged looks.

"Uh...Bewear. I think that you should stop chasing after her…" Passimian commented. "It's obvious that she doesn't like you, so why keep trying?"

"She started it. She said she loved me…" Bewear stated, still lying on his back.

"Wait, what?!" all three guys exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah…" he started.

 **-000-**

 _Moans and groans were heard from behind a bush. "Be-Bewear...s-so gooood…." a young Mudbray moaned._

 _The two were 'fooling around', as they did ever so often when they were younger. Bewear had evolved only a couple days prior and at the moment was giving Mudbray the ride of her life. She could barely even speak as they continued their little romp._

 _After a few more minutes, though, it ended, with her cuddling up to Bewear. "I love you…" she said, kissing his cheek before falling asleep under his arm._

 _Bewear blushed, as that was the first time she ever said that. He looked down at her before pulling her a bit closer to himself._

 **-000-**

The guys all gaped upon hearing that story. Mudsdale told the guy that she LOVED him, but was treating him like _this_?

"Wait wait...so you're telling us...that you used to screw when you were younger and she loved it every time...even saying that she loved you…"

"And she's pushing you away from her like that?" Pyukumuku finished for the Teamwork Pokemon.

Bewear sighed before finally sitting up. "I don't know what happened, but...I guess it's not gonna get that better…"

He walked over to the still moving treadmill and accidentally smashed it after slamming the 'Stop' button.

"Have you tried talking to her about it?" asked Passimian.

"How can he?" Incineroar replied, folding his arms. "She shuts him down any time he gets close…"

"Well, maybe _you_ guys can talk to her for him…" Pyukumuku suggested.

"Uh...why us?" asked Incineroar, not really interested in helping people with their relationship troubles. Not that there was one to even begin with here. He was just acting supportive to get on more good sides. Granted, he believed both Pyukumuku and Bewear were idiots, but it couldn't hurt.

"You guys are on the same team…." Pyukumuku explains. "It makes more sense that way…'

"And, not to be rude, but why would we do that if we're on opposing teams?" Incineroar queried. "It'd distract her from challenges."

"He's got a point there, little dude…" Passimian replied, agreeing with the Heel Pokemon beside him. "We do that, those two get all lovey-dovey, and our team takes the brunt of the effect since he's already lovestruck…"

"Well, there goes that…" Pyukumuku replied, making Bewear sigh to himself as he picked up his weights and continued lifting them. Passimian and Incineroar returned to their basketball video game.

"Bewear...you've been lifting those things for almost eight hours", Pyukumuku stated, making the guys gape upon hearing that. They didn't stop playing though. "I think it's time to stop…"

"No…"

Pyukumuku sweatdropped.

 **000**

Dhelmise had left the hotel much earlier, as soon as he finished his breakfast. He was at Paniola Ranch, talking to the Miltank there, as he knew a few of them already because of his previous jobs. He used to be a delivery boy back at his home in Seafolk Village and he made stops here frequently.

"So, what made you sign up for this show you're talking about?" one of them asked.

"I just think it'll be fun to mess with the other people here", Dhelmise explained. "I don't really care about the money…"

"Honey, if you just plan on 'messing' with people, why would you sign up for a competition in which you will have to compete in different challenges to do so?" asked the same Miltank. "Why not just mess with people around your village?"

"Because they know me", Dhelmise said simply. "It's more fun this way. And why not have a one in fourteen, well thirteen now, chance at winning $100,000 in addition?"

"Oh...well I hope you're careful, sweetie…" a different Miltank urged, rubbing his hub.

"I will. Don't worry…" he responded in a hearty tone.

"Oh, I hope you're not being sardonic…"

Dhelmise chuckled. "I'll see you all later. Tell Tauros that I said 'Hello'", he said as he started floating back to the hotel.

 **000**

" **Messing the others is gonna be a bit hard and it's also not. It's about half and half when it comes to gullibility. At least I hope…"**

 **000**

Togedemaru had a large plate of food from the buffet area of the hotel. The Roly-Poly Pokemon had a bit of an obsession with food; after getting all of that food from the mall, she had a hankering for more.

She had been in there since 6 in the morning, just stuffing her face. She knew it was unhealthy for her, but she didn't care. She sat near the windows so she could see if anyone had left. She had seen Dhelmise leave not so long after she had first entered. She saw Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Oricorio leave thirty minutes prior and head to the Apparel Shop for whatever reason. She also saw Gumshoos and Mudsdale leave like fifteen minutes prior. She rolled her eyes as she placed a glazed bagel into her mouth.

She moaned softly as the taste hit her mouth. "Amazing…" she said chewing.

She just so happened to look out the window again and saw Dhelmise floating back to the hotel. She rose a brow. "Hmm...what's he up to?" she asked.

She had a feeling that he was doing something sneaky, but since he was a bit hard to read, she couldn't decipher what it was. Needing to keep a 'friendly' and 'approachable' demeanor, she decided not to confront the Sea Creeper and decided to keep eating.

"Okay…" she said to herself, chewing a bit more of her food before swallowing. "If I'm gonna take down these other idiots...I need to be more sneaky and not so blatant when trying to get information…"

She bit into a Blaziken leg as she gazed out of the window again, only to see Shiinotic's face. Shocked, she jumped back and nearly choked on the meat in her mouth. She quickly swallowed before panting erratically. She looked back at the window and saw nothing. She twitched before gripping the floor furiously.

 **000**

" **Shiinotic has to GO!" Togedemaru growled.**

 **000**

Hakamo-o, Oricorio, and Lycanroc were inside of the Apparel Shop. Hakamo-o was simply leaning against the wall as Lycanroc and Oricorio tried on different swimsuits.

"Which one do you think the guys like more?" Lycanroc asked, wearing a light orange bikini top and bottom. "This one, or the lavender one?"

"Uh...I'm not that into fashion, so I can't really say…" Hakamo-o replied, a bit uncomfortable.

"Oricorio?"

"Hmm...I say the lavender, chica…" Oricorio replied as she wore a small, black full body swimsuit with white stripes on the sides. "It goes well with your fur tone."

"You think so?" Lycanroc replied, posing in front of a mirror. "It looked like it clashed a bit too much…"

"Trust me, chica…" Oricorio replied.

"If you say so…" Lycanroc said as she got the lavender suit and went back into the dressing room.

A few minutes later, Lycanroc returned with a sparkling lavender bikini top and a thin bikini bottom. There were a couple of thin ribbons connecting the two and four more around her waist. She came out with a pose, winking.

Hakamo-o, seeing this, couldn't help but twitch. She never got why girls had to try to make themselves look sexy to please guys. She'd probably do the same to please a guy that _she_ liked, too, but she just didn't get the concept.

"So...you think this'll make the guys go wild?" Lycanroc asked, turning around.

"Most likely, yes…" Hakamo-o responded. "Though I hope you don't expect to get laid or anything. They forbid that…"

"ACTUALLY", Lycanroc started. "They said that we could do anything we wanted as long as we DON'T get pregnant…"

"Okay, a-" Hakamo-o started before realizing what she was getting at. She facepalmed and shook her head. "That...that's sick…"

"Not if you clean…" Lycanroc said with a wink, making both Oricorio and Hakamo-o shudder at the thought.

"Now, if we're all good, let's go get the guys t-" she stopped mid sentence, seeing an unwanted player at the door.

Drampa was staring inside of the store, his head leaning against the door with his tongue hanging out.

"Ay caramba…" Oricorio stated, holding her head with a wing. "Este arrastramiento tiene problemas…"

"I don't know what you just said, but you said it…" Lycanroc said, nodding in agreement.

"I've got this…" Hakamo-o said, approaching the door with a sinister grin while popping her knuckles. Despite seeing her coming from a section of his eye, Drampa remained at the door with his same thirsty expression, staring directly at Lycanroc and Oricorio.

She thrust the door open harshly, knocking the dragon out of his stare. A bit disoriented, the Placid Pokemon slithered back and shook his head to clear out the fuzziness. As soon as he did, though, he was hit with a Sky Uppercut again, launching him over the railing and into the water below.

"Nice work…" Lycanroc commented, coming out behind her.

Hakamo-o was rubbing her wrist. Drampa was weak, but his head was still unnecessarily thick, which would probably explain his actions. "Thanks…" she replied. "Well, if you're still insistent on going to the beach, I'm just gonna go ahead since you plan on seducing some of the guys into coming, too…"

Lycanroc giggled. "Alright. Your loss…" Lycanroc said as she headed back towards the hotel, strutting.

"I'd go as well, but...I'd just rather not", Oricorio stated as she and Hakamo-o started heading down the street.

 **000**

"Come on, come on, PASS IT!" Incineroar yelled as his featureless gray player refused to pass the basketball to the others, no matter what buttons on the controller he mashed. The game was on an ZBox, which Incineroar already hated. This was just adding more fuel to the fire. "COME ON!

Passimian was enjoying Incineroar's frustration as his players, which were featureless and white, moved together and scored him more and more points after stealing the ball numerous times.

The final buzzer rang out, and the final scores were:

Packing Passimian - 132

Insidious Incineroar - 5

"Whoo!" Passimian cheered. "Good game."

Incineroar twitched, not wanting to lose his cool. He took a deep breath. "Yeah, good game…" he strained before standing up. "Excuse me a second…"

He walked out of the area and down the hall, where a furious roar was heard, followed by a bashing sound. Pyukumuku and Passimian exchanged looks of surprise, while Bewear just continued to watch his soaps on the television.

Incineroar returned to the area, his left arm covered in a dusty, white powder.

"Uh...you okay?" asked Passimian.

Incineroar gave him a look in response, resulting in Passimian turning back around to face the screen. Incineroar shook his arm a bit to get a bit more of the dust off of his arm. "Fuck it, I'm going back to my room…"

Just as he headed back to the elevator, it opened up on its own and Lycanroc sauntered out in her bikini. Instantly, Incineroar froze. Passimian had turned back around and his eyes immediately widened as she sauntered in. Pyukumuku waved, showing little interest, and Bewear continued to work out.

"Hello boys~" she said, her voice full of lust. Incineroar grew extremely uncomfortable, while Passimian actually tripped over the bean bag chair he was sitting in trying to rush towards her.

"Uh...hey, Lycanroc…" he greeted, leaning against the wall in a 'cool' fashion. "What brings you up here in that...very fitting swimsuit?"

"Well…" Lycanroc started, sauntering toward Incineroar, feeling his chest, making him even more uncomfortable. "I was coming to see if you big...sexy...men would like to join me and a few of the girls at the beach…"

"I'll be right there…" said Passimian, pressing the elevator button feverishly.

"Wait for me! I want to go, too!" Pyukumuku said, hopping off of the stand and toward the elevator. The door opened and Passimian hopped in, with Pyukumuku following behind him.

The door closed, leaving Bewear as the only other person on the floor besides the two of them. Lycanroc gave Incineroar a seductive smile, while the tiger had fear in his eyes. He REALLY wasn't interested in connecting with her _that_ way, he just needed her to know that he was unavailable so that they could build a faux friendship.

Maybe a real one after this game was over...

"Uh...I'm not really-" Incineroar started before being hushed by one of her fingers.

"Are you gonna come to beach...or am I gonna have to _persuade_ you?" she asked with naughty intentions.

"Uh...no persuasion needed…" Incineroar said, clapping his hands together, causing a bit of white dust to fly off. "First, though. I'm gonna go get cleaned up-"

"What's the point?" Lycanroc asked, grabbing his dusty arm. "We're going to the beach anyway. The beach has water…"

"The water's not boiling hot, so yeah...it's not really likely that I'm gonna be getting in…" Incineroar replied as he pressed the elevator button.

"Well, I'll come with you, then…" Lycanroc said as the elevator doors opened and Incineroar stepped inside. He groaned to himself. He needed to hurry up and just tell her so that things won't escalate and she won't feel betrayed in the end if it gets up in the air.

In the elevator, Lycanroc continued to mess with Incineroar a bit. When the elevator stopped and they headed to his room, he had made up his mind that he was going to tell her now. He entered his room, with her following him inside.

Upon entering, she saw that his bed was in almost the same condition as hers, a few extra sheets lying on the floor.

"Alright, look Lycanroc…" Incineroar started as he sat on his couch. Unexpectedly, Lycanroc sat in his lap, making him groan.

"Lycanroc...you need to stop with the seduction…" he stated. "You're a nice girl, but...I'm...uh…"

"Gay?" she giggled.

Incineroar was confused. "Uh, well. Yeah...how did-"

Lycanroc stood up from his lap and grabbed under his chin. "You're so cute. I could tell from the way you've been looking at Passimian. We're on different teams, but I'm pretty observant…"

"Wait...hold on. If you knew, why've you still been flirting with me like this?!"

"Because I wanted to see how long it'd take for you to break…" she giggled, booping his nose.

Incineroar gaped before blushing. He had been played.

"So, do you hate me now...or do you still wanna go to the beach?" she asked, swaying her hips as she headed to the door.

Incineroar grumbled before rising from his couch. "Three things. Let me wash my arm, stop saying that I 'broke', and PLEASE keep this to yourself. Only you and Passimian know and I'd like to keep it that way around here…"

"Why so secretive?"

"It's nobody's business and I don't want to be questioned about my personal life…" he replied, folding his arms with a look and tone that radiated seriousness.

"Well...you know that I'M gonna be asking questions, but deal…" Lycanroc said with a wink before leaving his room.

When she left, Incineroar chuckled a smile as he entered his restroom. "Clever, clever girl. I need to get her number before this show's over. I need a couple of female friends…"

 **000**

" **Gotta admit. She got me. Didn't think she knew…" Incineroar said. "And if she's gonna keep that same personality through this game, she's gonna be a very worthy ally…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise was floating through the hotel, in the search for...anyone, really. He hadn't really interacted with anyone for the entire day. Yeah, he had gone to visit his lady friends for a few hours, but he didn't expect to be all alone!

"Where the hell _is_ everyone?" he asked grumpily as he entered the elevator from the fourth floor. He had knocked on the doors of both Pyukumuku's and Bewear's rooms and got no answer. Granted, it was past noon, so he shouldn't have even tried there to begin with. He was going up to the seventh floor now. Certainly SOMEONE had to be up there.

The elevator dinged and doors opened. The first thing he noticed was a large hole to the right side.

"What the hell happened up here?" he asked as he floated out of the elevator and floated toward the main area. There, he finally saw somebody.

"Bewear! Finally…" Dhelmise exclaimed needily. "Where the heck is everybody?"

"Out", the red panda plush replied instantly, continuing to lift his weights while staring at the television.

Dhelmise didn't expect a response that quick, but he also groaned upon being given that vague information. "Okay...out WHERE?"

"Beach…" he replied in the exact same manner, still not turning to face him.

"ALL of them?!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"No…"

"Then where are the ones-"

"Don't know…"

Dhelmise remained silent; it was obvious that this was how he was going to respond to every question. "Thanks for nothing…" Dhelmise replied, floating back to the elevator. The seaweed was hoping that the bear would be able to communicate like a normal being, but he was surely mistaken.

He hit the elevator button again and the doors automatically opened. He entered and he pressed the first floor button. The elevators took a while to go down, so he started to do a bit of thinking. Why did everyone suddenly decide to up and leave the hotel together? He understood that this was their normal social time and it seemed like there wasn't going to be a challenge today, but it was still a competition! They should be planning their next moves! He may have been there just to screw with people, but the money was still a good thing to think about.

The elevator stopped at the second level, which perplexed him. Didn't Bewear say that everyone was at the beach?

The doors opened, showing Togedemaru, with red and orange sauce and crumbs around her face. She held two corn dogs, both slathered with mustard, as she entered the elevator.

"Dhelmise? I haven't seen you all day…" Togedemaru greeted, despite seeing him leave the hotel and come back through the window of the second floor.

The Sea Creeper Pokemon wanted to stay stagnant and silence in the presence of her, as he didn't care for her at all, but he needed some type of interaction, even if it was with her. "I haven't seen ANYONE all day. Except for you and Bewear…" he drawled as the elevator doors closed. "I leave on personal business and come back to an almost completely empty hotel! I thought that this was a competition, not a vacation. I mean the slacking days are great, but come on…"

"Huh. You're the last person I'd expect to be complaining about there being no challenges…" Togedemaru replied before biting into one of her corndogs. "The way you act makes it seem like you don't care about anything and that, well…. you're a snarky jackass. No offense."

Dhelmise knew she was going to rub him the wrong way as soon as he encountered her the first day there. He wasn't offended by the comment or anything, he had been called both smartass and jackass by numerous people before. Something about her just irked him; she had a shitty mood the first time she met everyone. Now all of a sudden she was acting like everyone is a friend? To him, that was bull.

"None taken…" he replied. "You know, the way you act makes it seem, at least to me, that you have things to hide. Well...other than the food in your stomach. You were very pissy when we all first met, why the sudden change?"

"...I was cranky…" she responded, frowning. Now she definitely knew that he was up to something. She continued, "I needed sleep."

"Uh huh...and I needed a bit of Pinap Jelly on my toast when I Power Whipped my mother…" Dhelmise replied.

The elevator doors opened and they both stepped out, well Dhelmise floated out, and were actually going in the same direction. Dhelmise was going to the beach to see what the heck everyone was doing. Togedemaru was going as well, seeing as everyone else was leaving. She wasn't really a following type, but when she felt alone, she goes with the majority.

She finished up one of her corndogs before tossing the stick into the trash on the way out. Dhelmise went ahead and phased into the ground to avoid being with Togedemaru any longer.

Togedemaru rolled her eyes and bit into her other corndog before heading toward the beach.

 **000**

Gumshoos and Mudsdale were heading back from their walk. They had walked up to Route 5's Pokemon Center and were now heading back. They had remained silent for most of the walk, as even though they enjoyed each other's company better than the others', there wasn't much the two had in common.

Mudsdale liked to run, but that was the only real thing that Gumshoos could get out of her at this time. Most of the times they interacted it was all about her. It was like she didn't want anyone to know anything about her, as she always changed the subject when Gumshoos asked her something.

It all added up to her life either being embarrassing or wretched. With the way she's treating Bewear and vice-versa, the former would probably the most logical reason. However, no matter how many times she asked, she got the same reply.

"I don't want to talk about it…" Mudsdale replied. "But, what about you? Uh...are you a virgin?"

Gumshoos stopped walking immediately as a blush appeared on her face. She gaped. "Really? We went from you and Bewear's past...to virginity talk?!"

Mudsdale realized that she'd probably just made things awkward for her. She just had to change the subject somehow! She did NOT want to talk about Bewear at all. What happened in their past needed to stay there.

"Sorry…" she apologized. "Could you...just not ask about my and Bewear's history? It brings up memories that I'd like to suppress…"

"Is it that bad for you?" Gumshoos questioned. "Sorry for asking so much…"

"It's no problem." Mudsdale replied as the two of them began walking again, having stopped next to Paniola Ranch,"Curiosity gets the best of us, just...please don't bring us up in the same light anymore."

Gumshoos gave her a nod of understanding, making a small smile appear on Mudsdale's face as they continued through Paniola Town and to Route 4. The two of them saw Togedemaru walking past the route and heading toward the rest of the city. This perplexed them. Why would she of all people be leaving the hotel? What reason did she have?

The two decided to ignore her for now and just headed back to the hotel. Entering, Gumshoos' stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since 5:20 AM and it was almost 1:10 PM.

"You hungry?" Mudsdale asked with a giggle, hearing her stomach growl.

"Yeah...haven't eaten since earlier this morning…" Gumshoos replied, holding her stomach as it growled again.

"Well, maybe you should stop waking up and eating so early. Maybe you won't have to deal with this again…" Mudsdale suggested. She always woke up around 9 or 10 AM, so she was A-OK when it came to hunger and rest. She understood that Gumshoos was pretty work centered and so she'd want to wake up early and get things done beforehand, but there was no real work to be done here, so she should just be relaxing until the challenge.

"I'm not always hungry like this. I don't know why I am now…" she replied as the two stood in the elevator as it went up.

It opened on the second floor and the two of them entered the buffet. Mudsdale wasn't really hungry, so she decided to head back up to the seventh floor. Hopefully everyone there was gone and she could continue to exercise in peace. Much to her chagrin, Bewear was still there, while everyone else was gone.

Mudsdale didn't want to talk to him, but this was just aggravating. She walked behind him with an angry glare. "BEWEAR!"

The bear didn't even flinch. He dropped his weights at his feet and turned to her with his same thousand yard stare. She recoiled back a bit before regaining her composure and tightening her glare again. "Why...are you here?"

Bewear didn't respond, he just continued staring at her. Mudsdale gulped and took a single step back. This particular gaze pierced into her soul, bringing back the memories of their childhood. She didn't know why Bewear was having this big of an effect on her now. She looked around the setting and guessed that it was simply because they were completely alone together. Every other time, someone was around them as well and she was able to assert herself to the bear with ease. Now that she was alone with him, though, she felt...nervous.

She looked around frantically, trying hard to avoid looking into his eyes. However, that plan when south as Bewear grabbed either side of her face and planted a kiss on her lips, causing her to blush quickly. Mudsdale was stunned at this action and kicked him in the stomach to stop him. Once free from the lip-lock, she panted softly as Bewear picked himself back up and started lifting his weights again.

Mudsdale was still recovering from the sudden kiss, as she was still blushing and panting to herself as she shakily made her way back to the elevators.

 **000**

 **Mudsdale gulped. "That was...that was just too sudden", she said before groaning. "Why does he have to be so good at kissing? I still remember all of those times as kids!"**

 **She shook her head. "No, no, no, no…" she repeated, as if pleading with someone. She took a breath before looking directly at the camera. "Okay, look. Bewear and I used to mess around when we were kids. No intimate connection at all. We were just best friends with benefits. But...then he started getting too clingy for my liking and I dropped him. That was that."**

" **I started fooling around with other guys and he kept coming out of nowhere and scaring them off and I got tired of it!" Mudsdale exclaimed. "Now we're here, he's kissing me again, and reminding me of when it was just us. I'm not gonna fall for it. At least I hope I don't."**

 **000**

Majority of the other contestants were at the beach. Hakamo-o and Oricorio were lying in beach chairs; Hakamo-o was shaded by an umbrella, while Oricorio was in the open. Pyukumuku was lying on the beach shore, while Lycanroc and Passimian were in the water splashing each other. Incineroar was watching from the side wall with his arms folded, refusing to enter the water without a floatation device. Togedemaru was making a sandcastle near the others to hold herself over.

She was tempted to go in the water and use Thunder to electrocute Lycanroc and Passimian just for the heck of it, but that would do two bad things for her. She'd get spotted by the others, ruining any chance of her plan working, and she'd get a cramp thanks to her eating. So, making these castles would have to suffice.

"Man...isn't this estupendo?!" Oricorio exclaimed cheerily as she sipped from a soda can through a straw.

"Uh...probably not…" Hakamo-o replied, her arms folded. "It's not _that_ stupid…"

"Que?" Oricorio asked before understanding what Hakamo-o was talking about. She giggled. "No, no, no…" she replied. "Estupendo means great…"

Hakamo-o chortled to herself. "Whatever floats your boat", she said as she laid back in her chair. Suddenly, the umbrella shading her was knocked away and replaced by an uneven shadow, as a sopping wet Drampa glared down at her, his hair standing on end. It was a glare that said 'I am going to destroy you'.

Hakamo-o glared back, unfazed. She kicked him in his stomach-area, making him groan and fall forward as she moved out of the way. The dragon whimpered upon impact and Hakamo-o dusted her hands off before going around to Drampa's backside. She retracted her leg far enough back before kicking him right in the goods, causing him to let out a loud yell that caused Pikipek to fly from trees.

Incineroar couldn't hold back his laughter and while Passimian and Pyukumuku both flinched. Oricorio was unfazed and Togedemaru had to hold in her laugh. Lycanroc was the only one who didn't take notice to the situation as she didn't care much about what Hakamo-o did to Drampa since he was always the instigator. She swam over towards Incineroar, who was catching his breath from laughter.

Once she was close enough she splashed water on him, causing him to hiss and jump away, looking at his damp body. He clenched his fists and glared at Lycanroc, who was laughing. He charged towards her, but she noticed and immediately jumped back into the water, which made him skid to a halt.

Lycanroc blew a Razz Berry before swimming back towards the others. Incineroar growled. "HOW CAN YOU EVEN SWIM? YOU'RE A ROCK-TYPE!"

"I LEARNED~!" she replied back, performing a backstroke.

 **-000-**

Dhelmise was at the bottom of the ocean while all of this occurred. After getting to the beach, he had decided not to question them and just let them have their fun. The thought came through his head that, with Tsareena gone, maybe his team didn't need to talk about strategies since they'd done pretty well in the last challenge, barring Tsareena.

He decided that here would be a good place to start thinking of a plan of his own. If he was going to mess with these others, he was going to need information on them. Being a Ghost-type, this task was going to be easy to accomplish. He just needed a good enough situation to where he could gather it without just sneaking into everyone's room like a pervert.

"Hmm...knowing these shows, there's gotta be a trivia type of challenge coming up sooner or later. So, I guess I'll have to gather info on my own in the meantime…"

"BAYLEEF HAVE NO BONERS!" he heard someone exclaim, causing him to jerk up from the sandy bottom. He looked around quickly before jumping back, seeing Shiinotic standing there, under water, with nothing covering his head.

"How the hell did you even get down here without drowning?!" Dhelmise exclaimed, completely mystified by this. He knew the guy was creepy and nonsensical, but this was a whole new level of 'What the fuck?'

"You just need to let the dying breaths of the sand enter your body and suckle on your kidneys in order for Slaking Kong to plow you through a wall and make a large hole through your body so that Joltik and Flabebe can feed on your corpse so that their touch compels you to sell your soul to Giratina, the dark underlord of the universe…" Shiinotic stated, not blinking once and keeping his same smile throughout.

Dhelmise stared at him.

Shiinotic continued to stare back.

Dhelmise was completely done with him at this point. It may just be the fifth day, but this was just too much. He was prepared to just rise from the depths, but he just had to question Shiinotic once more.

"Are you high?"

"I drink the blood of the innocent…" he replied in his same manner.

Dhelmise immediately just floated up and away from the psychotic mushroom, leaving Shiinotic alone at the bottom, still staring forward.

 **000**

" **If his team doesn't eliminate him first, I'm going to question everything that's ever occurred in my life up to this moment…" Dhelmise stated.**

 **000**

Dhelmise rose from the sea, startling the others a bit, as they did not know that he was down there.

"Dude, where'd you come from?!" Passimian exclaimed, surprised.

"An egg, just like each of us did…" Dhelmise responded stoically.

"Smart-ass…" Togedemaru muttered under her breath as the seaweed ghost floated toward the beachfront.

The few activities continued, with Incineroar starting to build a sand fort out of complete boredom, putting Togedemaru's to shame, as she growled in annoyance before belching, causing her own sandcastle to fall. Hakamo-o had to get another chair from a further side of the beach and placed it on the other side of Oricorio's. She then proceeded to pick up the umbrella that Drampa had knocked away and placed it to the right of it so that she could be shaded again. There wasn't any sunscreen, anyway. Oricorio was just sunbathing in her suit. Being in her Fire-type form, she was perfectly fine and didn't need to worry about sunburn. Drampa just remained in the chair he had initially fainted in due to Hakamo-o's attack to his stomach and privates. He was actually very comfortable in that position, and despite him being interested in everyone there, mostly Oricorio and Lycanroc at that moment, he decided to just stay stationary and catch a few Zs on his own terms.

Lycanroc and Passimian were still playing in the water, much to Incineroar's surprise; he began getting a bit suspicious. Prior to this, they hadn't really interacted with each other to this degree, and both of them knew that he was gay, which was making him a bit agitated. He didn't mind that they were playing together in general, but he knew damn well that just splashing in the water was not an activity that exemplified fun. He continued watching them for a while, which Dhelmise seemed to notice. The grimace on his face made Dhelmise believe that he had something on his mind that had to deal with Lycanroc and Passimian, who were still having fun in the water.

" _Hmm…_ " he thought. " _Interesting…"_

Shiinotic walked back to shore from the depths of the ocean with his same creepy expression. "WATER is-"

Shiinotic began going on a tangent about what water was, as everyone either covered their ears or tried to ignore him. He continued talking, even when everyone had made it clear that they didn't care. Once he finished, he stated. "Trying to escape the dongs of silence is futile in the ovaries of computers…"

"Okay, beach time is over. I'm going back to the hotel…" Hakamo-o said as she started sitting up. If Shiinotic was going to be there, she didn't want to be.

"Aw come on guys", Lycanroc said, swimming back onto the shore. "Can't you just ignore him?" she asked, gesturing to the Illuminating Pokemon.

"No escapes…" Shiinotic whispered.

"Yeah, no thanks...I'd like to keep my braincells…" Hakamo-o replied as she folded her arms and started to stand up and leave.

"Yeah, it's 2:30, anyway and I'm pretty hungry…" Passimian said, swimming back to the shore as well.

Hakamo-o watched his wet body as he came out and shook himself off. She couldn't help but blush a small bit before continuing to head back.

Others followed suit. Dhelmise phased into the ground and Incineroar followed Hakamo-o and Passimian. Oricorio flew back, and Togedemaru started walking back as well, kicking over Incineroar's fort in the process.

Lycanroc sighed, and upon seeing that the only ones left were Drampa, Shiinotic, and Pyukumuku, she shook her head and started heading back to the hotel as well.

 **000**

" **Shiinotic is different, yes, but why would you let his mere presence ruin your fun?" asked Lycanroc. "That's not the right way to think…"**

 **000**

As the time approached 3 o'clock, all of the the contestants found themselves back at the hotel, some more relieved than others.

Drampa was heading to the elevator, following the others, and saw that both of them were being filled by the others. He wouldn't have minded just getting and getting all squished together with the others for a short while.

However, as he thought about that idea, the doors closed, leaving him alone. He groaned.

 **000**

" **These brats are so intolerant and rude…" Drampa muttered. "They should take it as a compliment that I'd wish to ravage them all…"**

 **000**

After the elevators closed, Drampa pressed the button and waited for one to come down. As he waited for the others to get off and for one of the elevators to return, he felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around, but didn't see anyone or anything behind him. He turned back around and jumped back in surprise, seeing Shiinotic staring at him.

Drampa studied the mushroom for a while before seeing the right elevator door open. He entered, and he could feel Shiinotic still staring at him. He turned back around and saw that what he felt was indeed the case. The Illuminating Pokemon's blank, soulless eyes were making him uncomfortable. The fact that he was also a Fairy-type added to this feeling.

He had never paid him any mind due to him trying to get around the others, but now that he was experiencing him...he understood why the others didn't want him around. The mushroom was indeed creepy. Drampa hadn't pressed any buttons in the elevator, so they remained open for quite some time.

Eventually, Drampa pressed the button to the seventh floor and the doors closed, allowing him to actually breathe; he held his breath the entire time Shiinotic stared at him without even knowing it!

After a short while, he made it to the seventh floor. He moved in and saw that the only one there was Bewear. A small grew on his face as he slithered out of the elevator and in the direction of the bear. He got closer, eventually slithering his neck around him.

 _BAM!_

Drampa lay on the floor, unconscious. Bewear had bashed him in the head with one of the dumbbells he was lifting, not wanting to deal with him.

 **000**

" **No…" Bewear simply stated.**

 **000**

Most of the guys, along with Lycanroc and Togedemaru, had decided to play a game of truth or dare in Passimian's room; they were bored. Dhelmise was initially against it due to it being a game for chicks when they have slumber parties. However, he knew that this game could provide him with valuable information if the right questions were asked. So, he decided to join in.

"Alright, the game's truth or dare", Lycanroc said placing a glass bottle on the floor. Pyukumuku, Passimian, Togedemaru, and Lycanroc were sitting on the floor, while Dhelmise floated and Incineroar sat on Passimian's bed. "Pretty self explanatory, so I'm not gonna waste time explaining. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go…" Togedemaru said, immediately spinning the bottle. It landed on Pyukumuku, much to her dismay. However, she kept a smile. "Okay...Pyukumuku, truth or dare?"

"Dare please…" he replied.

"Okay...I dare you...to flush yourself down the toilet", Togedemaru stated, making Incineroar and Passimian stifle laughs.

"Wow, that's wild..." Lycanroc giggled. "You gonna do it little guy?"

Pyukumuku sighed. "I would, but I'm just worried about how I'd get back here…"

'You'll be fine. Don't even worry about it…" Togedemaru replied.

"Uh...okay…" Pyukumuku said as he hopped into the bathroom.

"Someone check and make sure that he does it…" Togedemaru replied.

"On it…" Dhelmise replied as he floated to the bathroom door. He saw Pyukumuku on the toilet seat and hopped inside of the bowl before flushing. He was surprised that the guy actually went through with it! That was humorous, but foolish.

"He actually went through with it…" Dhelmise said, floating back over.

"Wait, he _did_?" Incineroar queried, surprised. "I expected him to back out in the last minute…"

"Well he didn't…" Dhelmise replied. "I don't know whether to be proud for him going through with it, or disappointed in him for being dumb enough to go through with it…"

"Well, let's not dwell on that right now…" said Lycanroc. "Why don't we get him back here?"

"Uh...and how do you suppose we do that?" asked Togedemaru. "He's in the sewers by now…"

"Wait...you mean you didn't have a plan to get him back to begin with?" Passimian exclaimed.

"I didn't think he'd actually do it!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"Oh boy…"

"Don't worry...I guess I'LL have to go and get him back", Dhelmise stated. "I'm the only one here with the capabilities…"

"I have no objections…" Lycanroc said with a smirk.

"Same", Passimian said.

Togedemaru and Incineroar both shrugged, making Dhelmise sigh in annoyance. "You'd better not say any good stuff while I'm gone…"

He entered the bathroom before phasing under the toilet and following the pipes.

"Well, now that he's gone...let's move on shall we?" asked Lycanroc. "Since Pyukumuku's out of commission at the moment, I'll go next…"

She spun the bottle and it landed on Passimian. "Ooo~ Truth or dare?"

"Truth…" Passimian said, folding his arms with a smirk.

"What are your opinions on all of us girls here?" she asked, causing him to pale a bit and blush. Incineroar chuckled at this.

"Well?" the tiger urged.

Passimian sighed. "No offense to any of them if I say something bad", he started. "Gumshoos is boring, but very smart. Mudsdale, to me, is a bitch for what she's doing to Bewear. Tsareena was hot, but dumb as a sack of bricks. Oricorio's cute and exotic. Hakamo-o's my type of chick. Lycanroc, you're sexy and pretty wild, and Togedemaru...I still can't really say much about you since all you've been doing is eating, so I guess I'll just say...lazy?"

Togedemaru shrugged with a nonchalant expression, but on the inside, she was smirking. With him talking down the girls on his own team, she could tell them to vote him out. However, it'll depend if they care that much or not.

"Aw...so you think I'm sexy, huh?" Lycanroc said, leaning in closer to him, making him blush and start to stutter. She then suddenly backed away. "But since you seem to have a bit of a thing for Hakamo-o, I guess I can tell her-"

"What? No!" Passimian exclaimed. "I just said she's my type. I like serious chicks who're feisty and as strong as me. I barely know her and it's too early to even consider that…"

"Whatever you say, big boy…" Lycanroc said with a giggle.

Passimian sighed as he spun the bottle; he hoped that Lycanroc wouldn't be crazy enough to actually tell Hakamo-o what he said. On second thought, he just had to hope Hakamo-o didn't want to talk to him about it once she finds out. The bottle stopped spinning, but it didn't point at anyone, so he decided that it was Incineroar's turn since he hadn't said or done anything in the game yet. "Incineroar, truth or dare?" he asked.

"Truth…" Incineroar replied before cursing in his head. " _Fuck! I should've said dare!"_

"Are you a top or bottom?" he asked, making Lycanroc giggle and making Togedemaru raise a brow in curiosity.

Incineroar twitched. "I'd like to switch to dare…"

"Oh-ho no you don't", Passimian replied. "You said truth, so you've got truth. Now, are you in control or do you let your _girl_ be in control?"

Incineroar was relieved that they were portraying him as straight since Togedemaru was there, but he still didn't feel comfortable answering because they knew the truth! He groaned.

"I'm a bottom. There…" he replied, blushing while looking away with his arms folded.

Both Lycanroc and Passimian were surprised at that revelation; it was really unexpected.

"Wow, never pictured you being the submissive type", Lycanroc giggled. "I figured you'd be the one giving it out because of your build and personality…"

"I'm changing the subject…" Incineroar stated immediately, spinning the bottle. It landed on Lycanroc, much to his joy. "Okay...truth or dare?"

"Dare…" Lycanroc said confidently, folding her arms. "Bring it on, big daddy…"

Incineroar gave her a look. "Don't...don't call me that. Anyway, I dare you to give Passimian a lap dance…"

"What!?" Passimian exclaimed in shock. "I mean thanks, but why?!"

"Yeah...why?" Lycanroc asked, raising a brow, not necessarily complaining.

"Why not?" he replied, folding his arms with a cocky grin.

"Fair enough…" Lycanroc said with a smirk before climbing into Passimian's lap.

Togedemaru groaned in annoyance.

 **000**

" **Sexual talk and actions annoy the hell out of me. This isn't softcore porn!" Togedemaru blustered.**

 **000**

" **Fuck...my life…" Incineroar growled.**

 **000**

Hakamo-o was doing pull-ups in her doorway. The players on her team were either hanging with others or doing their own things, and due to her not really being much of a HUGE people person. She couldn't just up and start casual conversation, but if someone else initiated it, which had been happening most of the time there, she was fine.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to actually make friends while she was there. Sure, she had Oricorio and Lycanroc, but she considered them more as close acquaintances, and it was mainly because they were on the same team. If this was a show where it was everyone for themselves,

she wouldn't have been talking to anyone.

But, that wasn't the case. She dropped down and closed her hotel room door before heading into her restroom, closing the door after. She sat down on the toilet with a sigh as she started thinking more about the competition.

Everyone had an equal chance at the game, with the exclusion of Drampa and Shiinotic, and with thirteen of them remaining, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and anxious. The idea of making friends actually popped up in her mind again, as having allies would ensure her safety if her team lost more challenges.

Knowing these shows, however, she knew that when the merge came and it was really everyone for themselves, she was going to be targeted, that is if she makes to the merge anyway. She sighed as she rose up and flushed the toilet.

"I'm gonna have to make an alliance…" she said to herself. "So, I'll have to hope that we keep winning challenges so that I can keep people in…"

She exited her restroom, only to see Shiinotic standing there with a smile. Immediately, she closed the door and held the door closed.

 **000**

" **...He needs to go…" Hakamo-o said with a frown.**

 **000**

Gumshoos had returned to her room after seeing everyone return from wherever they were. Her television was still on, so she went over to her drapes and opened them, letting the sunshine inside. She sat on her bed, seeing that Criminal Minds was now on.

Looking at her clock, she saw that it was exactly 3:30 PM. At this time, she figured that there wasn't going to be another challenge, so she decided to take a short nap .

However, not even seconds later-

"CONTESTANTS!" Gumshoos jumped back up immediately as Solgaleo's voice echoed over the speakers in her room.

"Your challenge will start at 6:00 PM, so try and rest up as much as you can! You will meet in front of the hotel! That is all."

Gumshoos sighed. "I should have expected that. They did say that they'd be hosting in intervals…"

She went ahead and lied back down on her bed.

 **000**

Almost all of the contestants returned to their own rooms to either watch TV or sleep for the hours up until the they were called down. Incineroar and Passimian had decided to go back up to the seventh floor to play a few games until it was time to go. Passimian didn't have a guaranteed sleep schedule anyway and Incineroar usually stayed up until midnight with his husband until one or both of them fell asleep; he did have random fits of narcolepsy at times, though.

Bewear had finally left after being on the floor, standing in the same spot, lifting weights, and staring at the television for over five hours. He had dragged Drampa into the elevator with him after the call over the speakers. Simultaneously, that was when Passimian and Incineroar entered.

"Dude...I still can't believe that Pyukumuku went through with everything he was dared!" Passimian exclaimed.

"Me either…" Incineroar said, sitting in one of the bean bag chairs. "So, how was the lap dance?"

Passimian gave him a "Fuck you" look, which made Incineroar chortle.

"Aw...what's the matter?" asked Incineroar. "Didn't expect her to have _that_ much of an affect on you?"

"She licked my cheek and grinded in my lap, what do you expect?!" Passimian exclaimed, a blush appearing on his face. "Hell, I bet you liked seeing it…"

Incineroar sneered. "You'll never know…" he said mischievously.

Passimian groaned as he looked through the games before grumbling to himself.

"So what game are we playing?" Incineroar asked, laying on stomach with his legs held up.

"Hell, I don't know. What do you wa-" he started before turning around and seeing him in that new position. He groaned before turning back around toward the games.

"What?" Incineroar asked after seeing his reaction.

"Put your legs down…" he stated simply.

Incineroar rolled his eyes. He was likely making the lemur 'uncomfortable' somehow by being in his own comfortable position. Passimian grabbed Grand Theft Auto V and placed it into the system, replacing the previous game.

"GTA V, huh?" Incineroar asked with a grin. "I'm gonna destroy you…"

"Oh please…" Passimian said, rolling his eyes. "I'll snipe you from wherever you are…"

"Doubt it…" Incineroar stated.

The elevator doors opened with a _DING_ , and Lycanroc came out with a cheeky grin.

"What's up guys?"

Incineroar chuckled, while Passimian groaned as his blush re-emerged.

 **000**

Mudsdale was lying in her bed with her drapes closed and her television off. She'd been there in that position ever since Bewear kissed her. Her initial bold and confident demeanor was currently replaced with anxiety and fear. She had no idea why she was feeling this way all of a sudden, but she was.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she muttered. "It was just a kiss. We'd kissed more when we were kids! Calm down and focus on the damn game. Get some sleep...everything will be fine."

She closed her eyes and started to sleep to build up some strength for the challenge. Not too long after, she felt paws around her waist. She didn't think much of it at first, but when she felt something familiar around her lower regions, her eyes popped open. She saw that she was laying on Bewear, his arms wrapped around her stomach.

"What the- Bewear, I said ny-aaaahhh!" she groaned.

 **-000-**

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" Mudsdale screamed as she shot up in her bed. She looked around, panting erratically and sweating profusely. She looked down, her panting starting to slow down.

Turning to her clock, she saw that it read 5:54 PM. Her eyes widened as she looked at the window and saw that the sun was starting to set. She quickly jumped out of bed and knocked her door open so that she wouldn't be late.

 **000**

Everyone was either already in the front of the hotel or on their way. Lunala was there five minutes early, much to her dismay. She wanted to get ALL of her hours of sleep, no matter how many minutes or seconds remained.

The hotel doors opened and Mudsdale came out, the last one to arrive.

"Right on time…" Lunala said with a small yawn. "Now, who's ready for tonight's challenge?!"

No one replied, as some who decided to nap were still a bit drowsy. Lunala smiled. "Good…"

"Hey, as a head's up, could you just tell us when you guys are gonna do the challenges so that we know in advance?" asked Gumshoos.

"And make it convenient and not at all difficult for you? Of course not!" Lunala replied, making a few of them groan.

"Now, your challenge today will be occurring on this island, so follow me…" Lunala said, floated towards Route 4.

 **-000-**

The contestants were all lead to Brooklet Hill, where they saw the standard wooden bridge leading across the first lake. However, there was platforms on either side of the bridge: six on the left side and seven on the right.

The platforms looked like they were made of cheap driftwood, as there were noticeable holes and pieces broken off that were still floating the the water. Each platform was held stationary by an anchor underneath them. On the platforms themselves were long, iron stems with rectangular ends that had red buttons on them.

"Welcome to your first challenge!" Lunala introduced.

"What's with all of the shitty looking platforms?" asked Hakamo-o.

"I was getting to that…" Lunala responded. "Now, all of you will take a platform. I will then ask you questions regarding Total Pokemon history. Whether it be from this show, or any other show that has aired."

"Wait, that's not fair!" Gumshoos blustered. "Not all of us have seen every show!"

"Well this challenge will go by quickly, then, won't it?" Lunala replied with a sneer, making Gumshoos sigh.

 **000**

" **I mostly watch shows that deal with my career path, whether it be fictional or not", Gumshoos explained. "The only show I've seen like this is the one with Mew and Mewtwo as hosts."**

 **000**

" **I've got this challenge in the bag", Togedemaru said confidently. "I've watched almost every one of the shows, including the ones that got cancelled after a few episodes!"**

 **000**

 **Shiinotic was staring at the camera as its feed started producing static.**

 **000**

The Solgaleos each took a platform on the left side, while the Lunalas took the ones on the right. The more heavyset competitors had to be careful and steady.

"Alright", Lunala started. "Here's how it will go. When one team answers a question correctly, one of the platforms on the other team will collapse. If you are standing on that platform, you are out and you are not allowed to answer any questions. The team that has more players remaining will win an advantage in the next challenge…"

 **000**

" **I have ample knowledge on these shows thanks to the internet…" Hakamo-o explained. "I wanted to know what I was in for, so…"**

" **But, it looks like I may not get a chance if someone else answers faster", she concluded.**

 **000**

"Okay," Lunala began. "Let's start off with a pretty easy one. Who are the main producers for all of these shows?"

Togedemaru used her needle to hit her button quickly before Hakamo-o had a chance. The Scaly Pokemon growled as Togedemaru smirked.

"Arceus and Giratina are the producers of majority of them", she answered.

"Correct", Lunala said before turning to the Solgaleos' side.

Bewear's platform wobbled a bit before collapsing under his feet, sending him into the water. He resurfaced quickly and swam to the middle bridge before climbing out and shaking himself off. He gazed at Mudsdale for a few seconds, which she thankfully ignored.

He then sat down on the bridge, dipping his legs in the water.

"Next question. Who was eliminated first on Ultimate Total Pokemon Island and why?" asked Lunala.

This time, Hakamo-o was able to hit her buzzer first, much to Togedemaru's dismay. "Yanma, because she wouldn't shut the hell up."

"Correct!"

Mudsdale's platform began creaking, which should have already happened considering her initial weight, and she was dropped into the water. Bewear immediately dove in to help her, knowing that she couldn't swim that well.

He brought her up and helped her onto the bridge. Back around others, she regained her confidence and knocked him back into the water

"Hey, that wasn't called for, Mudsdale. The guy just _helped_ you!" Passimian exclaimed.

"I didn't ask him to…" Mudsdale replied with an annoyed tone as she crossed the bridge and sat at the other end.

"Okay...next question", Lunala said, moving on from the situation. "One of the main romantic conflicts in Total Pokemon World Tour was between which three players?"

"Wait...which one?" asked Togedemaru.

"Yeah, one was hosted by Mew and Mewtwo and the other had Mew and Victini…" Hakamo-o replied.

"Hmm...thinking about it, both of them had romantic conflicts, so three from either one will do… Lunala stated.

Surprisingly, Drampa hit his button. "Vina, Volante, and Razor…"

Everyone looked at him in shock before looking back at Lunala, who was just as surprised.

"Well, he's right…" Lunala said. She turned back to the Solgaleos.

Oricorio's platform started wobbling and she immediately flew up so that she wouldn't be dropped into the water. "¿Por qué yo?!" she exclaimed with a glare.

"It's random and no hablo taco language…" Lunala replied, making Oricorio growl. The Dancing Pokemon flew to the bridge and stood next to Bewear. "Next question. In Total Pokkemon Island, with two 'K's', which contestants is the only one to have their name in an episode title?"

"Oh great, episode guide bullshit…." Togedemaru commented. "I don't pay attention to that, I just watch!"

Hakamo-o recalled seeing the misspelled show title on Google. She had seen some reviews, but she couldn't place a title.

No one else could really say anything either, as they didn't remember much themselves. Another shocking event occurred, as SHIINOTIC hit his button this time.

"Oh no…" Passimian mumbled, hold his head.

"Sableye", he stated in the calmest tone anyone had ever heard from him. They all looked toward Lunala again, whose mouth was agape.

"Uh...y-yeah", she said, nodding.

Everyone remained silent, not knowing what to say. Lycanroc's platform wobbled.

"Of course…" she stated as she leapt from the platform immediately.

"Alright, so far three players are remaining for the Solgaleos and six for the Lunalas", said Lunala. "So...pretty good standings so far…"

"Bias!"

"You're damn right…" Lunala replied. "Next one. In Pokemon Drama Island, the one with Jirachi and Diancie, in the fear challenge 'Phobia Frenzy' which two competitors shared the same fear?"

Drampa hit his button again. "Noivern and Druddigon."

"Correct again…" Lunala said. "Man, my team is on a roll…"

"I say again...BIAS!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

In response, his platform disintegrated, but since he was floating, nothing happened.

"Real mature…"

"Next!" Lunala said, ignoring Dhelmise's comment. "In Total Pokemon Redux, which new contestant was actually a disguise for an old one?"

Hakamo-o hit her button quickly. "Probopass."

"Correct", Lunala said before turning to her team.

Gumshoos' platform broke apart, dropping her into the water. She sighed. "Oh well, didn't really know much of this anyway…" she said as she swam to the middle bridge.

"In Fuzzboy's Total Pokemon Island, who is the main host and why?"

"What kind of name is Fuzzboy?" Incineroar asked. "And why is it taking ownership if Arceus and Giratina are the so-called 'producers' of these shows?"

"They have their own canon," Lunala replied simply.

Incineroar smirked at this. If she wasn't sure, then that meant that the host wasn't a legendary. The shows that are produced by Arceus and Giratina have legendaries as hosts, so this meant that the host wasn't a legendary.

He hit his button. "Larvesta because he lost rock-paper-scissors."

"Correct", Lunala replied giddily. She turned to the Solgaleos.

Hakamo-o's eyes widened as she looked behind her and saw that only Pyukumuku was remaining. She felt her own platform start to shake and she dropped into the water. She growled before climbing onto the bridge, which was nearby. "Well, we're screwed."

"Okay, next question…" Lunala continued. "In Total Xtreme Island, on the episode 'Truth or False?', what song did Kaden completely sexualize to seduce Gareth?"

Much to everyone's surprise, except for Lycanroc and Bewear, Pyukumuku hit his button.

"A Whole New World", he answered.

"Uh...correct", said Lunala.

Passimian's platform broke apart, sending him into the water. "Well...looks like this is my bath for tonight…"

"Next question…" Lunala said. "On Total Bachelor Island, what is the bachelor's name?"

Incineroar was prepared to hit his button, but Pyukumuku beat him to it.

"Paxton…" he answered.

"Correct again…" Lunala said.

Drampa's platform wobbled before breaking apart, dropping him into the water. "I prefer if I'm the one making others wet…" he stated in a serious tone.

"Disgusting…" Lunala stated, giving him a look. "Next question. In Total Pokemon Insane Island, how many challenges had two parts?"

Togedemaru started to think, but Pyukumuku hit his button immediately.

"Five…"

Lunala growled a bit. "Correct again…"

Incineroar was dropped into the water.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed, holding onto one of the pieces of wood to keep himself up.

Togedemaru growled, glaring at Pyukumuku, while Shiinotic kept his same expression.

"Okay, next question…" Lunala started. "In Total Pokemon Idiotic Island, who was the main torturer?"

Pyukumuku hit his button again milliseconds before Togedemaru did. "Kavi.."

Lunala glared at the Sea Cucumber Pokemon. "Correct…"

Togedemaru felt her platform start to wobble and break and she was dropped into the water. "Fuck!"

Shiinotic kept his same expression.

"Okay...final question…" Lunala said. "In the Pokemon Drama Island hosted by Latios and Latias, what was Baltoy's talent in 'The Talentless Show'?"

Now, this was a question that Pyukumuku knew, but also didn't know. He recalled Latios and Latias' show, but he had forgotten what happened in the episodes.

Shiinotic, on the other hand, hit his button. "He solved a Rubik's Cube."

"C-CORRECT!" Lunala cheered. "The Lunalas get the advantage!"

The Lunalas all cheered, while the Solgaleos gaped in shock. Shiinotic walked on the water's surface, towards them all, immediately causing his team's cheering to cease and be replaced with the same expression as the Solgaleos.

Even Lunala was stupefied, but she had to regain her composure. She cleared her throat. "Er-hem, well. Let's move on to the next challenge, shall we?"

 **000**

Everyone went further down Brooklet Hill, stopping at the larger lakes with waterfalls formed on the right side. In the approaching night sky, it was rather hard to see anything, so light poles had been added around to aid whoever was there. There were two fishing rods lying against a wall near the dock in the middle of the area.

"Okay competitors your next challenge will involve fishing", Lunala explained, eliciting a groan from Incineroar.

"I fucking hate fishing…" he growled, folding his arms.

"Ironic coming from a cat…" Dhelmise stated nonchalantly.

"Fuck you, seaweed boy!" Incineroar snarled.

"Moving on…" Lunala said, interrupting their interaction. "Your goal for this part will be to try and catch three Feebas."

"Wait, aren't those things ultra rare around here?!" Passimian queried. "How do you expect us to find one? Let alone three?!"

"You guys don't have to worry about that", Lunala said with a giddy smile. "Because you guys won the last challenge, you guys get...this", she said as a large bag dropped onto Drampa's head, making him groan upon his head meeting the ground.

" _Feebas Feed: Lure those goddamn bastards out…._ " Mudsdale read from the bag.

"I like the slogan…" Togedemaru commented with a giggle.

"Yep…" Lunala said.

"Okay...so what do we get?" asked Lycanroc.

"Absolutely nothing…" Lunala said. "You guys lost the last challenge, so no help for you. You'd better hope you don't just find Magikarp…"

The Solgaleos glared.

"Puta…" Oricorio commented.

"I'm going to assume that means thanks…" Lunala stated. "You're welcome."

"Actually, that means-"

Passimian covered Gumshoos' mouth immediately. He didn't want her to cause them any trouble, because looking at them, they looked ready to throw down.

"O...kay. Weird…" she said. "Anyways. Three Feebas is your goal. The team that captures all three of them first will win an advantage in the final challenge. I'll be back at the hall watching your progress. And….GO!" she exclaimed before vanishing.

 **000**

"Alright, so who's going to do the fishing?" Passimian asked.

The other Lunalas all stared at him, as if he didn't know that he was the only one with the capability and possible interest.

"Why are you guys just staring at me?"

"Uh...you're the only one who can do it efficiently with no issues with it…" Drampa stated. "So...yeah…"

"You've got arms…"

"Well, I'm allergic to fish, for one. Other than that, these babies are for mainly jerking…" Drampa stated blatantly, not caring what they thought.

That resulted in everyone taking a step away from him, with the exception of Shiinotic.

"Other than that disgusting revelation, what's the rest of you guys' excuses?!" Passimian said, folding his arms in annoyance.

"I hate fishing with a passion", Incineroar repeated.

"I'm not built for it, obviously!" Mudsdale said, stomping a hoof, causing a hole to form in the ground.

"Look at me...do you really think me handling fish bigger than me is a good idea?" Togedemaru replied.

"Sports aren't my thing…" Gumshoos said simply.

"Wait...fishing's a sport?" asked Incineroar. "How the hell is sitting down with a rod in your hand a sport?"

"Lots of physical exertion goes into it...trust me…" Drampa stated, making the others stare at him disgust. "What?!"

 **000**

"Alright, I'll do the fishing. You guys just...try to help us somehow…" said Hakamo-o as she grabbed a fishing rod.

"I swear this is bullshit", Dhelmise. "Our team always gets fucked over!"

"It's just the second challenge…" Lycanroc said, rolling her eyes. "I'm just as pissed as the rest of you, but even I know that it's not that serious. How do we even know if their bullshit fish food even works?"

"We could try it ourselves…" Pyukumuku said.

The others turned and saw Bewear holding a bag of Feebas Feed. They stared in shock.

"Wait...where'd you two get that?!"

"I took it…" Bewear said without hesitation.

"Uh...I don't think they'll allow cheating, amigos…" Oricorio said, looking at the bag.

"Okay…" Bewear said as he prepared to throw the bag.

"WAIT!" Dhelmise exclaimed, so that only their team could hear. "Who said anything about cheating?"

"They took their advantage. I doubt Lunala will stand for it…" Hakamo-o replied.

"She floats…" Dhelmise replied. "She doesn't _have_ to stand for it…"

Hakamo-o groaned in annoyance, holding her head.

"Now, about that bag…" Dhelmise started. "Who says we can't dump the entire thing inside so that no one really has an advantage?"

The others exchanged glances. It wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but they weren't sure on how well it would work. They didn't want to lose another challenge, that was for certain, but what if it backfired?

"Are you in or not?" asked Dhelmise.

"Fine…" Hakamo-o stated. "Go for it…"

"Alright...drop the bag…" Dhelmise directed. Bewear threw the bag down on the ground and Dhelmise sliced it with his anchor before lifting it up and hovering it over the lake.

 **-000-**

Passimian noticed that the Feebas Feed had disappeared.

"Where the hell did the-" Passimian started before seeing the Feebas Feed bag hovering over the lake. "HEY!"

The Lunalas saw their bag be ripped open more and start being scattered around the water.

"What the hell are you doing, you cheaters?!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"Oh nothing...just sharing your reward with us…" Dhelmise said as the bag finally emptied and was dropped back on their side. "There, all done. Now all of us have an equal chance!"

"If we end up losing because of you, there's going to be hell to pay!" Mudsdale growled.

"Oh please, Lunala's watching right now. If she had any objections, she'd have come back and complained," Dhelmise retorted. "So...fair game."

"You are going down!" Incineroar roared.

 **000**

 **Incineroar was chuckling. "Gotta admit, the bastard's got some smart tactics. Nothing wrong with adding a bit more poorness from the inside…"**

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Passimian both sat down with the fishing rods, determined to catch Feebas first. Oricorio was on Hakamo-o's side, while Passimian was alone. The others either swam to the opposite side to explore or went back from where they came to slack off and relax.

Mudsdale and Gumshoos were two who were heading back to the Pokemon Center on Route 5. There wasn't a pint to them just sticking around if Passimian was gonna do all of the work of fishing. There wasn't much either of them could do anyway. Mudsdale wasn't a strong swimmer, obvious from the way Bewear had to help her in the last challenge, and Gumshoos just was just uninterested.

On their way back up, they had to pass through some thick grass. However, as they made their way up-

"Muddy!"

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…" Mudsdale stated, closing her eyes in annoyance.

"Well, I'm just gonna keep going, you deal with Bewear because I'm sure that there's some things that need to be worked out now…" Gumshoos said as she continued walking.

"Wait, Gum-"

"Muddy…" she heard as she turned around with a glare.

This time, Bewear wasn't going to just take that. Hours of watching soap operas had given him much more awareness to his situation. "Will you stop fucking looking at me like that?" he said seriously, which was shocking for Mudsdale, as she never knew he had a serious tone of voice. "Why the hell are you acting like this? Why HAVE you been acting like this?"

"I could ask the same question to you, clingy…" she retorted, keeping her glare.

"I'm sorry, but weren't YOU the one who said that you loved me when we were younger?"

"Keyword: YOUNGER", Mudsdale said. "I didn't really mean it! We fucked. Girls say that sometimes, and unless they're really dating, IT DOESN'T MATTER."

"We were just fooling around; we were just FRIENDS, nothing more…" Mudsdale stomped.

Bewear just stared at her, which she countered with her same glare. There was silence between the two, and due to this, Mudsdale started to leave. As soon as her back was turned, though, he started.

"You know...I find it funny that with all of the times that we've 'fooled around', you didn't get pregnant. And it is also funny how many times you asked ME to screw YOU. Kinda makes you a nympho for me…" Bewear stated, making her growl and turn back around.

"Oh please. I've had many other guys take a ride on me that were way better than you!" she growled.

"You know...you only let me bang you as a Mudbray. As soon as you evolved, you...practically just dropped me like I was a side piece instead of a friend", Bewear said. "Maybe if you'd have talked to me instead of just ignoring me and treating me like a stalker, we wouldn't even have this problem…"

"You'd still be doing the same thing. I know it. You can't even comprehend the simplest of requests…" Mudsdale stated. "In school, everyone called you retarded since you could barely do anything right!"

Bringing that up, Mudsdale noticed that Bewear's eyes grew dark. She recalled all of the times she was with other guys and how violent he was towards them. But, he wouldn't really hurt _her..._ right?

He started taking a few steps towards her, as if he was going to harm her. Mudsdale started backing away. "B-Bewear? Bewear!?"

The Strong Arm Pokemon wasn't hearing her, bringing up him being labeled as retarded just reminded him of all of crappy times he had at school as a Stufful. Being bullied every day, failing classes, getting detention for fights he didn't try to start, all of it flooded his mind as he tried to keep his mind blank for this entire game. But now, thanks to Mudsdale, someone he _thought_ to be a FRIEND, it was all coming back. Needless to say, he was pissed.

Mudsdale started running off, but Bewear quickly caught up with her and held her down on her stomach. Mudsdale used High Horsepower and kicked him in the face. He continued to hold her down, but he shook his head quickly before looking around and seeing where he was. He looked down and saw that he was over Mudsdale.

"Oh, hi Muddy!" he greeted, as if their interactions prior hadn't happened at all. "Did you want to play our game again?" he said, picking her up before sitting on the floor with her in his lap.

Mudsdale's eyes widened. What was going on!? Was she dreaming again?! She felt something large and familiar near her rear and she blushed like mad upon seeing what it was.

" _Mother of Arceus, he's gotten huge!"_ she thought, starting to panic. "Bewear stop."

"Come on Muddy, you love this game!" he said cheerily, in the exact same tone she remembered as a Mudbray.

"N-No...Please be dreaming, please be dreaming, please be dreaming…"

 **000**

A loud moan echoed throughout Brooklet Hill, surprising majority of the other contestants. The source was familiar, making a few of them worried.

"What the heck was that?" asked Togedemaru.

"I don't know. It kinda sounded like Mudsdale though…" Passimian said as he reeled in yet another Magikarp. He growled before throwing it right back into the water.

 **000**

 **Mudsdale smacked her lips, a blush on her face. "Uh-m...that was...1000 times better than any other guy I've been with, including when we were just kids. I uh...I wish that that hadn't happened on live television."**

" **Okay, I know this looks bad, but I don't know if me and Bewear are gonna go anywhere with this…" Mudsdale said. "We just banged, yes. It was...absolutely amazing, yes. But...I think a 'just sex' relationship will work better than an actual one. I forgot how good of a performer he was..."**

 **000**

" **Muddy is pretty…" Bewear praised.**

 **000**

Lycanroc had swum across the lake to the other side with Pyukumuku and Dhelmise in order to see if they could find any Feebas in the second lake. Lunala hadn't specified that they had to only search the lake they were brought to, so this gave them a much better chance. However, from the other team, Drampa was following them for his own personal reasons.

On the way, Dhelmise dwelled on their game of Truth or Dare back at the hotel. "Ugh...I still can't believe you flushed yourself down the fucking toilet…" he muttered, shuddering. "Going into the sewers was disgusting…"

"Sorry…" Pyukumuku replied. "I didn't want you to think I was weak."

"Dude, don't underestimate yourself…" Lycanroc said as she climbed out of the water. "You shouldn't do things just because you think others will like you more…"

"Though it would give us more reason to keep you in the game…" Dhlemise replied, causing Lycanroc to glare at him.

"What? You know it's the truth. Easily manipulated people are the best ones to keep!"

Lycanroc facepalmed. "Let's just check the next lake. Maybe it's easier down here."

The three made their way past the grass and to the next lake, which was much smaller than the other one.

"Huh...smaller space. Maybe this WILL make it easy…" Dhelmise commented.

Grass shifted awkwardly behind them, alerting them that someone else was there. Turning around, they noticed a bit of white fur peeking around a corner.

"Drampa...great", Lycanroc groaned.

"Hey, he's not doing anything…" Pyukumuku said. "Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt…"

"With our luck, he's jacking off behind the corner…" Dhelmise muttered, turning back around as Lycanroc dove into the water, followed by Pyukumuku. Dhelmise was able to watch them, as the lake wasn't that deep. "Well, good luck…"

Lycanroc rose from the water with a deep breath. "I don't know how this is going to work…" she said, swiping her fur back out of her eyes. "This lake isn't that big or deep, so I doubt that we'll be able to find anything…"

"You find fish in the rocks", Dhelmise replied. "They lead into deeper waters. That's why it's important to make sure the lure goes into the rocks so that you actually have a chance…"

"Wait...if that's the case, why don't you tell Hakamo-o?!" Lycanroc blustered.

"Nobody asked for tips earlier…"

"WE'RE ON A TEAM!"

"Again...nobody asked for any tips earlier…" Dhelmise repeated. "But, I'll go back and let her know."

"That'd be appreciated…" Lycanroc said before going back into the water.

 **-000-**

Drampa, overhearing that claim, smirked to himself. If he could get back to Passimian and let him know about the tip, his team may have a better chance, meaning that he may stay in longer.

He flew back to the dock, where Passimian was sitting with the rod. Incineroar was napping against a corner and Togedemaru was resting against him.

Passimian sighed as he shook his head. "Typical…"

He expected Incineroar to be awake considering what he had been told while they were playing GTA. However, it also made sense considering he mentioned falling asleep when he didn't need to.

Once again, the guy felt like he was doomed due to him being the only one, in his mind, doing anything of use. Shiinotic had won them the previous challenge, but their reward was stolen and now benefitting BOTH teams instead of just theirs and his teammates were either gone or just sitting around either asleep or just watching.

Before the challenges, almost everyone on his team was so exuberant. He even started warming up to Togedemaru, albeit a tiny bit. But, during challenges, he felt completely isolated, which sucked.

He looked towards Hakamo-o and saw that she and Oricorio were starting to drowse, much to his happiness. If they fell asleep, he had more reign over the lake. He suddenly felt a tug on his line and started reeling in whatever it was. With one sharp tug, he reeled in a…

"...NOTHER FUCKING MAGIKARP!?" he exclaimed angrily as he kicked the overabundant fish back into the water.

He turned back toward Hakamo-o and Oricorio, seeing Dhelmise there now. He glared; he had thought that he was a cool guy, but after this display of what he called 'butthurtedness', that thought went south. Granted, this was the competition part, but still.

Suddenly, Drampa landed next to him, startling him and causing him to fall into the water. "Dammit Drampa!"

"Oh come on, you can't blame me for that…" Drampa stated as the lemur climbed back onto the dock.

"You scared me, so...yes I can", Passimian countered. "Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be jerking off to children?"

Drampa gave him a look. "I resent that…"

Passimian huffed and sat back down with the fishing rod. Drampa sensed his annoyance and chuckled to himself. "So, big boy...you wanna know a tip?"

"If you touch me, I will rip that mop off of your head!" Passimian snapped, baring his teeth.

"I met an actual tip for fuck sake!" Drampa growled. "I heard Dhelmise telling the others that the rocks are main points to find fish…"

"No shit…" Passimian replied. "Maybe give me tips that I DON'T already know!"

"Okay, well if you know, why aren't you fishing around them?" Drampa retorted.

"I a-" Passimian started before realizing that his fishing line had been drifting underneath the dock, not even making it into any rocks. "Dammit…"

"Feebas!" they all heard.

They turned to the lake and saw the shabby fish hop out of the water briefly before swimming back down.

"Okay, fuck this!" Passimian exclaimed, throwing the rod to Drampa before diving into the water.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o and Oricorio had watched the Teamwork Pokemon leap into the water to swim after the Feebas. Hakamo-o growled. She was considering going after it, but decided against it after seeing Passimian.

"This is gonna take all night!" Hakamo-o groaned, leaning her head against one of the light poles.

"Aw...it'll be fine senorita. Passimian probably won't-"

A loud splash was heard as Passimian rose up, holding a struggling Feebas. "Finally!" he panted.

Hakamo-o gave Oricorio a look.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting that…" Oricorio responded, gesturing to the monkey swimming back to the dock with the fish.

Hakamo-o sighed before feeling a tug on the fishing rod. She yanked and winded hard, eventually reeling in...a boot.

"Ugh…" both girls groaned. Hakamo-o tossed the boot onto land so that it couldn't get caught again.

"Come on! We have the Feebas Feed in the water!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "Why isn't it working!?"

Oricorio shrugged, not sure herself. She only stared at the Feebas that Passimian held and frowned in jealousy. Her father considered any fish that he brought home a trophy, so seeing Passimian hold it up mockingly really ate at her.

 **000**

" **El chico mono no será tan engreído una vez que este desafío haya terminado…" she muttered, folding her wings aggressively.**

 **000**

Gumshoos was sitting in the Pokemon Center on Route 5 with a magazine in her hand. She hadn't brought it, instead she poked around the cafe area and found a stack behind the counter. Each one had a picture of Arceus and Giratina on the cover with the title being 'Total Pokemon Pandemonium!' Apparently the magazine was about the other shows they made and their successes. As she read through, the doors slid open and Mudsdale came in, wobbling a bit and panting softly.

Seeing her in that condition, Gumshoos grew concerned, dropping the magazine and rushing over.

"What happened Mudsdale?" she asked worriedly. "Did Bewear hurt you?!"

Mudsdale looked at her and her blush grew more visible. "Uh...not exactly…"

"Then why are you walking funny and bre-" Gumshoos stopped mid-sentence upon realizing. "Wait...did you two-"

Mudsdale looked away bashfully, shuffling her hooves with her blush still on her face.

"Oh no…" Gumshoos said, facepalming. "Mudsdale, what if you get pregnant?!"

"This was just the first time here!" Mudsdale replied.

"Why the hell did you even fuck him?!" Gumshoos questioned. "Didn't you hate him? How did it escalate from 'Leave me the fuck alone', to 'put it inside of me?' minutes after I left?!"

Mudsdale didn't want to answer, so she chose not to. "I plead the fifth…"

"Plea not accepted…" Gumshoos retorted. "Come on, Mud!"

Mudsdale groaned. "Why does it matter? It's personal!"

"It matters because if you get pregnant, you get eliminated. And if the others find out you're dating a player on the opposite team, they'll get suspicious!"

"Who said that we're dating?" asked Mudsdale as she walked past Gumshoos and toward the cafe.

Gumshoos blinked before shaking her head and rubbing her temples. "Wait...so you two _aren't_ dating?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. "We may have had sex, but it doesn't necessarily _mean_ anything."

Gumshoos sighed. "Okay...so you two had sex...and you're not dating...so, what the hell is you two's situation and I'm sorry for asking again but...HOW?!"

"Again...personal", Mudsdale repeated as she picked up a wrapped cinnamon roll from on the side of the counter.

Gumshoos just remained silent and went to sit back at the table with her magazine. Mudsdale tried to tear open the pastry's wrapper, but found that she couldn't really do it on her own. She grunted while holding it with her teeth.

She went over to Gumshoos, who was looking at the ranks of each series. "Geez, you'd think these legendaries would change the names of their shows to differentiate them a bit more…" she said to herself. She shook the wrapper, making the squeak-rattle sound. Gumshoos lowered her magazine and slashed at the wrapper before bringing the magazine back up to her face.

The roll fell onto the table and she immediately ate it. "Thanks…" she said.

"Mhmm…" Gumshoos replied.

Mudsdale was curious at what she was reading, seeing Arceus and Giratina's faces on the cover. "What's that?"

"A magazine…"

"I know _that_ , I mean what's it talking about?"

"The popularity of these types of shows and how they've affected society…" Gumshoos replied. "Apparently children are acting out and trying to experiment with each other more frequently, teenagers have become more rebellious and have been trying to beg their parents to let them sign up for them, and some adults just find the show to be cancerous drivel like they claim all reality television is…"

"Anyone who uses cancer as an insult is an idiot, so I don't think adults' opinions matter in that case…" Mudsdale replied.

"Mhmm…" Gumshoos replied, turning a page. Mudsdale was being stubborn with her, so she was going to just be stubborn with her when it came to more questions.

"So...which one is the most popular?"

"Total Pokemon World Tour…" she said. Yeah, it was never said that she was good at being stubborn.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Mew and Mewtwo's…" she replied.

"Huh...that's cool I guess", said Mudsdale. "How many TPIs are there anyway?"

"240…" she replied.

"WHAT THE…" Mudsdale gaped.

"Yeah...and that's counting the ones that have either been cancelled or on hiatus…" Gumshoos stated.

The two remained in silence for a while. After a while, Mudsdale decided to bring up a topic that she had brushed past earlier. And considering what happened between her and Bewear, she thought that now would be a decent time to talk about it.

"So...are you a virgin or not?"

Gumshoos blushed and she gripped the magazine tightly before scowling at her. "It's personal…" she replied, causing Mudsdale to give her a look.

"Gumshoos, really?" Mudsdale retorted. "Simple yes or no. I'm not asking for details here like you were…"

Gumshoos groaned. That was good point, she hadn't been asking 'yes' or 'no' questions, just about specific details. "No…" she finally admitted.

"Ooh~" Mudsdale said. "Look at you. I'll be honest, I wouldn't have expected it. Not an appearance based thought by the way. Just...the way you carry yourself…"

Gumshoos held back a giggle. "Let's not discuss this further. You got your answer…" Gumshoos replied, lifting the magazine back up to her face.

Mudsdale giggled, rolling her eyes.

 **000**

"Wait wait wait...you did WHAT with Mudsdale?!" Dhelmise exclaimed as Bewear came to the second lake.

"We played bang bang…" Bewear replied as he walked into the water, unintentionally landing on Lycanroc, who immediately swam from under him and rose up, taking a deep breath.

"Be careful next time!" Lycanroc exclaimed, rubbing her head while spitting out water.

"Sorry…" Bewear replied.

"You have any luck?" Dhelmise asked.

"I saw one, but I couldn't get it in time…" she replied, climbing out of the lake. "I think I need a small break. Bewear can handle it now…"

Suddenly, a Feebas launched out of the water, landing in her arms. Pyukumuku hopped out of the water afterwards.

"I punched it out before it went back into the rocks", he explained cheerily.

"Yay", Bewear said, raising his arms.

"We still need two more...not the right time to cheer", Dhelmise replied.

Bewear turned back around and snatched one from the water immediately before raising both of his arms up. The others stared in surprise.

"Well...I guess that comes with having a bear on the team…" Dhelmise stated. "Fishing's a breeze…"

 **000**

" _Oh...y-yeah…right there…"_ Incineroar purred in his sleep, rolling on his back.

Togedemaru's eyes flickered open due to this. Opening, she saw a now glowing Shiinotic staring down at her with his signature smile. She squeaked, her spikes unsheathing and stabbing Incineroar, causing him to wake up from the pain.

"What the hell!?" he roared angrily, but upon seeing Shiinotic's glowing form, he immediately gaped.

"Uh...why the hell are you glowing?!"

"It's about time the two of you woke up!" Passimian exclaimed, sitting on the single Feebas. "Could you actually help out with the challenge now!?"

"What do you expect us to do?!" Incineroar asked.

"Togedemaru's an Electric-type. Maybe she can...I don't know...shock the water!?" Passimian exclaimed.

"That'd end up helping their team, too", she replied. "So...may not that best of an idea…"

"It doesn't matter. They don't have any Feebas and we just need one more", Passimian replied. "Now come on…"

"Okay, but if they end up winning, it's gonna be your fault…" Togedemaru said, walking over to him. Incineroar just folded his arms and attempted to get back to sleep, but Shiinotic's smiling, glowing form kept him wide awake.

 **000**

" **Great...just when things were getting amazing…" Incineroar growled, folding his arms. "Stupid Shiinotic…"**

 **000**

Togedemaru used Thunder on the water, causing numerous Magikarp and Finneon to rise to the surface, fainted.

"Thanks for the help!" Hakamo-o exclaimed before a bit of thunder was heard in the sky.

Looking up, they noticed the clouds had turned gray and lights flashed inside of them. Bolts of electricity started emanating from the clouds.

"What the hell?" asked Passimian. "There wasn't anything said about a storm around here!"

"Well, it looks like there is now…" Drampa said. "Better hurry up you slab of hunky man meat…"

"...If you ever refer to me as that again...I'll tear you a new one!"

"Sheesh, it was a compliment!"

"You're a pervert! I ain't gonna accept that from you!"

Drampa groaned, rolling his eyes.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o pulled hard on her fishing rod, successfully reeling in a Feebas.

"YES! FINALLY!"

"And the Solgaleos win the second challenge!" Lunala exclaimed, teleporting back.

"What?!" Passimian exclaimed. As if on cue, rain began pouring down.

"RAIN is the name of the pee is that is given to fruit scented-"

"SHUT UP!" Incineroar growled before Shiinotic touched him once, sending him to the ground, unconscious.

Everyone in the area stared for a few seconds.

"Uh...right…" Lunala continued.

"How did they win!?" Togedemaru exclaimed. "They only got one Feebas!"

"Actually, three!" a voice cheerily exclaimed.

Lycanroc, Bewear, Dhelmise, and Pyukumuku came from up from the other side of the lake, with Bewear holding two Feebas.

"Dammit!" Passimian exclaimed.

"Can we just move on with the last challenge please?" Incineroar growled. "This stupid rain is annoying me…"

"With pleasure...I guess…" said Lunala said.

 **000**

Everyone made their way to the Totem's Den for their final challenge. The stormy weather was making the water in the vicinity churn aggressively, and the booming thunder and lightning made the scene all the more frightening.

"Time...for your final challenge…" said Lunala.

A roaring sound was heard and immediately, rising from the water, was an enormous blue fish that looked like it was made of smaller ones. It roared intimidatingly at all of the contestants. Two pink heart-shaped fish appeared on either side of it.

"Uh...w-why-"

"Your final challenge...defeating Wishiwashi!"

Almost everyone gaped in shock, causing some rain to enter their mouths.

"You're JOKING, right?!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "In that form, it's one of the most powerful non-legendaries!"

"Exactly why it's a challenge…." Lunala said cheekily. "It's rather simple. Each team will have a chance at battling Wishiwashi and its Alomomola helpers. I will be keeping track of time of how long it takes for it to either knock all of you out or for _you_ to knock _it_ out. The team that lasts the longest or knocks the Wishiwashi out the fastest will win."

"That sounds horrible…" Oricorio stated.

"You are a Fire-type. I expect it to be for you…" Lunala replied.

"Hey! What's our advantage?" Dhelmise exclaimed. "It'd better be something good, too!"

"Oh right... _your_ team won…" Lunala said, rolling her eyes.

"You're damn right. And you'd better not screw us over…" Hakamo-o replied.

Lunala groaned. "Fiiiiiine. You don't have to deal with the Alomomola when you battle it…"

"Wait, we have to fight them, too?!" Mudsdale exclaimed.

"Yep...trust me. You're gonna want to get rid of them as soon as possible…" Lunala replied. "And my team...since you guys lost and have to battle all three of them anyway... you guys can go first."

They all exchanged looks of nervousness, even Togedemaru, who had an advantage over it.

 **000**

" **Dear Arceus...please let us live!" Passimian exclaimed.**

 **000**

Everyone from the Lunalas were standing on the shore, staring at the 26 foot fish and its smaller associates.

"So...I think if we go one at a time, we'll have an easier time", said Gumshoos. "And by doing so, we'll be able to give more power until someone is able to deliver a final blow…"

"What about the Alomomola?" asked Incineroar, pointing to the two fish.

"Handle them first, just to get them out of the way…" Gumshoos replied. "Lunala made it seem like they actually dealt d-"

She was interrupted by a Hydro Pump, slamming her hard into the rocky wall at the end of the beach. She was connected to the rock momentarily before slumping off, unconscious.

"That's one down…" Lunala said. "COME ON! PAY ATTENTION!"

"Alright, I think Incineroar and I should go first", Mudsdale explained.

"Say WHAT now!?" Incineroar exclaimed.

"You and I are the weakest against it. If we're able to dodge some of its attacks, we may be able to get a few hits in!"

"I sincerely doubt that it'll work…" said Incineroar.

"Just try!" Mudsdale exclaimed before being blasted by a Scald. She growled, feeling a sharp burn in the aftermath. "DAMMIT!"

"Alright, fine…." Incineroar growled. He used Blast Burn, which headed toward the three fish, but evaporated into steam upon touching the water.

"Oh great job, Incineroar, now we can't see!" Togedemaru scolded.

"The rain would've made the shit weaker anyway, don't start with me!" Incineroar retorted.

"Stop arguing! The rain's making the steam dissipate a bit…" Drampa stated.

"Okay perv, why don't you try and get us some progress?!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"If you insist…" Drampa said. He slithered forward a bit, using Thunderbolt on the three fish, doing a significant amount of damage.

Immediately, though, both Alomomola used Heal Pulse on the Wishiwashi before using it on each other. They all gaped again.

"KILL THEM!" Incineroar exclaimed.

The Wishiwashi used Ice Beam on Drampa, knocking him out cold.

"Shit!" Passimian exclaimed before getting hit by Scald, knocking him into Mudsdale, who got hit again, knocking her out, too.

"Arceus, fuck!" Passimian rose up, feeling a burning sensation all over his body. He looked around and saw that everyone else on his team was suddenly unconscious. He was the only one left. He slowly rose up before getting hit with Hydro Pump, knocking him into the rock, similar to Gumshoos, knocking him out as well.

"And...time!" Lunala exclaimed before looking down at a watch. "Eight minutes, forty-five seconds…"

No response was given from them. The Solgaleos immediately felt uneasy. With the rain boosting its Water-type moves, there was a high chance of it taking them each down with one hit.

"Alright Solgaleos, you guys just have to beat eight minutes and forty-five seconds and you'll win!" Lunala said unenthusiastically.

"Thanks for the confidence…" Dhelmise replied.

"Just shut up and go get obliterated like the others…"

 **-000-**

The Alomomola had been removed, so the only one the Solgaleos had to face was the Wishiwashi.

"Alright guys, we need to put all of our power together if we're gonna try and-"

Dhelmise used Power Whip while Hakamo-o was talking and Bewear used Focus Blast directly after, reverting the Wishiwashi back into its Solo Form within a matter of seconds.

"Alright, all done. Who wants the finishing blow?" Dhelmise asked boredly.

The rest of his teammates, as well as the Lunalas and Lunala herself, stared in complete and utter amazement and shock.

"No! NO!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "I call bullshit! How the hell did you two knock it all the way down to its puny state in seconds?!"

"Because unlike you, we didn't really talk and just ACTED", Dhelmise stated.

"Wishiwashi strong but slow. Attacking fast makes it easy…" Bewear added.

"Apparently so…" Lunala said through grit teeth. "Lunalas, looks like you'll be eliminating someone tonight…"

Thunder boomed as they all exchanged glances.

 **000**

Once everyone made it back to the hotel, the Lunalas immediately went to the seventh floor for a meeting. Lunala had given them ten minutes to converse, similar to Solgaleo.

They were evenly spread about, with Gumshoos sitting on the floor next to Mudsdale closer to the elevators, Passimian and Incineroar were sitting in the bean bag chairs, Togedemaru sat on the treadmill, Drampa sat around the weights and Shiinotic just stood in a back corner.

"Alright...who're we getting rid of?" asked Passimian.

"I nominate Drampa…" Gumshoos started.

"Of course you do…" Drampa muttered, already knowing that they were gonna go for him.

"I second that…" Mudsdale added.

"Third!" Togedemaru added.

"I'm fine with it…" Incineroar stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh COME ON!" Drampa exclaimed. "You're seriously considering booting ME over...THAT?!" he exclaimed, pointing to Shiinotic, who was still in the corner.

"Well, unlike you, he was actually useful in the challenge!" Gumshoos replied.

"I'm sorry, but where were you?" Drampa countered. "You all just want me out because of how I act, but guess what assholes, AT LEAST I'M HELPING WITH THE CHALLENGES!"

"He's...got a fair point…" Passimian suggested.

"D-Did you serious have to fucking think about that?!" Drampa exclaimed angrily. " **I** was the one who brought the last gem in the last challenge. **I** was the one who was actually by your side and tried giving you hints that the other team were getting while these others were either sleeping or off doing jack shit, and **I** also answered fucking questions for the first challenge!"

"Yeah yeah yeah...you're still on the chopping block…" Togedemaru stated.

"Actually...now that that's all come to light...no. No, he's not", Passimian stated. "It pains me to say, but even if he's a creepy perv, some of us haven't given our all to the game in the slightest."

Gumshoos noticed that he was glaring directly in her and Mudsdale's direction, making her uneasy.

"I'm not gonna name any names…"

"Gumshoos", Drampa stated immediately, causing Passimian to glare at him. "What? She hasn't done jack shit in this game so far and she has the nerve to try and nominate ME!"

Passimian sighed. "Yes. Gumshoos, you need to put more effort into this competition. If you don't you're gonna end up getting eliminated."

Gumshoos looked down.

"This is just a warning. And this also goes to all of you. If you start slipping, you either pick yourself up or you're going down", Passimian stated.

"LUNALAS! REPORT BACK TO THE LOBBY!"

"So, who's getting the boot?" asked Mudsdale.

They all exchanged looks.

 **000**

The Lunalas made their way to the lobby, where a peeved Lunala waited. "I thought you guys would be smart enough to handle these challenges, but I apparently thought wrong. Go on into the confessional and place your votes, then go and wait outside..."

 **000**

" **I'm considering voting Gumshoos as a warning, but I'll stick with Shiinotic", Passimian stated. "Too creepy."**

 **000**

" **I'm still voting Drampa. I don't care…" Gumshoos said before reassessing the situation that happened earlier in the day. "On second thought, Shiinotic goes…"**

 **000**

" **The freak is going down!" Togedemaru exclaimed.**

 **000**

" **Shiinotic…" Mudsdale stated simply.**

 **000**

" **I didn't get a chance to do shit to fuck us up, but at least we're still losing a player", Incineroar growled. "I have GOT to focus! Anyways, Shiinotic is too creepy."**

 **000**

" **Fuck off Gumshoos. You're now number fourteen on my list of players here I'd jerk off to", Drampa stated.**

 **000**

 **Static accompanied Shiinotic's confessional once again.**

" **LORD of the flies and those divine eyes-"**

 **/ZZZ/**

" **I shall return and those that have been-"**

 **/ZZZ/**

" **-violated with a rubber Ducklett into the-"**

 **/ZZZ/**

" **-baptism of scat and organs all over the face-"**

 **/ZZZ/**

" **-life goes on...and you shall all perish in the wake…"**

 **000**

Everyone was now outside in the dark. It was approaching midnight, and most of the competitors were feeling tired.

Lunala came out. "Alright, the votes are in, and it seems that the one going is...Shiinotic!"

All of the Lunalas smiled and turned to him, he had his same smile plastered on his face. "You all will regret this decision…" he said before his body slowly faded away.

The Lunalas all exchanged looks of fear upon seeing that. Lunala was even creeped out!

"Uh...okay, hurry and get back inside…"

They happily obliged, rushing back into the hotel, leaving Lunala alone.

"And with that disturbing message, we've reached the end of this episode. Will my team completely suck again? Or will the Solgaleos take another loss? Find out next time on Total Pokemon: Alola!" she said being teleporting away.

 **000**

 **No words. No words at all. Shiinotic got eliminated and...apparently things are gonna get strange for the Lunalas. Lots and lots of things revealed here, actually too many to recap. This was probably the longest chapter I've ever written, so PLEASE review and let me know what you guys think so far. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next time on Total Pokemon: Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **REVIEWS are the monstrosities of a Seismitoad's sweaty orifices where the soda cans of the future reside to spill their fluids onto the faces of those who choose to lick doorknobs in public. The specifications make no sense, but the universe allows the urine of the sun to pour onto the genitalia of a Shuckle to impregnate it and cause a cataclysmic meltdown of the human race. Yeah…" Shiinotic stated.**


	4. Episode 4: Throwing Shady

**Alright…**

 **000**

After Shiinotic's elimination, things around the hotel became noticeably calmer, only a miniscule amount though, as things had already been averagely calm already. The week went by without much of anything happening. Tuesday, everyone just hung out in their own rooms for most of the day, only coming out to eat or get some fresh air. Wednesday was when a few of them messed around and tried playing some games together with mixed results. Thursday was when most of them spent the day on the seventh floor just watching television, exercising, or playing video games.

It was Thursday night, 11:12 PM, and mostly everyone was either still up and about or heading back to their rooms.

 **000**

Pyukumuku had turned in at 9:00 PM, as he liked sleeping for long periods of time. He was feeling very content with his situation in the game so far. He was doing a bit well socially, he helped his team a bit in the previous challenge, and he got to sleep as much as he wanted with only two challenges a week.

He was an introvert for most of his life, generally uncomfortable and uninterested in social gatherings. He felt that it would serve no point because ultimately, if he formed a friendship with someone, he would be forgotten. However, after fifteen therapy sessions, he finally gained a better outlook. He struggled to make friends whenever he decided to participate in parties or gatherings. Either he was ignored or they talked about things that he knew absolutely nothing about.

He had signed up for this show to see if he could just make friends. He didn't care about the money at all.

It was currently 3:33 AM and his innards kept entering and exiting his body as he snoozed. Suddenly, his door was kicked open, startling him awake. Bewear entered his room, causing him to groan to himself.

Bewear had become his best friend in the game, but his excessive need to burst into his room in the middle of the night and carry him to the seventh floor was getting annoying. Bewear walked toward the Sea Cucumber and picked him up, placing him on his head.

"Bewear, why do you do this?" Pyukumuku asked groggily.

Bewear didn't respond and just walked out of the room, causing Pyukumuku to sigh before dozing back off, initially difficult due to the light of the hotel.

 **000**

Incineroar was still on the seventh floor, playing a Halo match against someone else. His eyes were bloodshot from being up for longer than usual, his tail was swishing across the carpeted floor like mad, and he had raided the mini-fridge and pantry in the buffet area, snagging a six pack of soda as well as numerous Twinkies and bags of cheese puffs. He had the lights dimmed down so that the only light came from the larger television.

As of right now, he was getting his ass handed to him against his fiancė, who had called the hotel to make this match happen.

"COME ON!" Incineroar roared as he threw his controller down; the match ended 32 - 78. The phone next to him started to ring, making him growl before picking it up. "Fuck you…"

" _Aw...how cute. My kitty's all angry…"_ a rather meek toned voice retorted over the phone.

"You're not supposed to be better than me!"

" _Well, when you're not here unplugging my controller, bumping me, or grinding in my lap to distract me, let's say that I'm pretty adept at this game…"_

"Hmph, you didn't complain did you~?" Incineroar replied with a smirk.

" _There was no point, especially since it almost always ended up in the same way~"_ the voice replied playfully.

Incineroar blushed. "You're lucky I love you…"

The voice chuckled over the phone. " _I love you, too. And don't worry, when you get back home, I'll be sure to let you win~"_

Incineroar purred. "I love you so much…"

" _You just said that...and I'm glad to hear it again…"_ the voice said before chuckling. " _Well, I'm gonna get some sleep. You should too, hun…"_

"Alright, night, or uh...morning, babe…" Incineroar replied before hanging up the phone with a smile. He took a deep breath before starting to stand up, close his eyes, and stretch. When he opened them, the lights were on. He turned around and his eyes widened, seeing Bewear with Pyukumuku still asleep on his head. He twitched before looking down at the phone and growling.

"How long were you there?" he growled.

Bewear just blinked, choosing not to respond. Realizing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Incineroar stomped towards him with a glare. "Not...a...word…"

Bewear just blinked again, still not responding.

Incineroar groaned in exasperation, his intimidation factor not working. He yawned unintentionally, and when he closed his mouth, Bewear still stood there, unfazed. He sighed and just walked past him. Not even all of his sharp teeth were enough to scare him. Then again, the bear barely showed any emotion to begin with, so it probably wasn't that big a deal.

Once he pressed the elevator button and entered, Bewear headed toward his same location. He placed Pyukumuku on the weight stand before picking up two 200 lb weights and starting to lift them. Bewear wasn't really scared of anyone, so he felt that Incineroar's actions were a bit strange.

He hadn't heard anything, as he and Pyukumuku had arrived just as he stood up to stretch, which was when he turned the lights on. He was a bit confused, but he decided not to question anything and go about his routine.

He actually felt a bit better about his and Mudsdale's encounters. Ever since Monday, she'd been all over him! She'd always come close to him and kiss him, nuzzle him, let him ride her, let him _ride_ her. It was a great improvement from the way she'd been treating him. He really loved her and would never get why she even decided to treat him poorly in the beginning.

He looked up at the television and saw that it was off. He looked around and saw the remote next to Pyukumuku on the weight stand. He dropped one of the weights before grabbing the remote and turning on the television, which was still on soap operas. He picked up his dropped weight again and started pumping and watching, as he usually did.

 **000**

Five hours passed

 **000**

Dhelmise was hanging on his wall, asleep. He had taken a nail from his couch and nailed his pillow to the wall before hanging himself up by his wheel. He didn't use his bed due to feeling uncomfortable on his back.

He snorted before waking up abruptly, looking around before groaning. "I'm still here and the money isn't mine yet…wonderful…" he muttered.

He floated off of the nail and looked at the clock next to his bed. "8:40 AM...great…"

He turned on the television and saw the legendaries Raikou and Keldeo fighting, with Raikou completely pummeling Keldeo, with Suicune watching with a smile.

"Ugh...these legendaries are always doing _something_ that doesn't matter…" Dhelmise stated. He floated over to his window and looked out, seeing nothing of much interest.

He floated to his bathroom to wash up. Once inside, he floated into his shower and turned on the water with his weedy tendrils.

"Okay...I need to learn more about these others to properly screw with them…" Dhelmise said to himself. The last challenge and these past few days hadn't really helped anything, but the truth or dare _before_ the previous challenge did help a small bit. He now knew that Pyukumuku was practically a pushover, and Lycanroc filled him in that Incineroar was submissive and Passimian liked Hakamo-o.

Both of those things shocked him, but he knew that he was going to have fun exploiting them. He needed to know more though, as that was just three people out of the twelve that were left. He didn't care about the teams, so he was going to be sure to get everyone. The dilemma, though, was who to mess with first.

"Hmm…" he hummed quizzically. "I guess Passimian's crush can be exposed...that way it makes things awkward for both of our teams self-proclaimed 'captains'."

He turned off the water and floated out of the shower before using a blow dryer over his body. He didn't concentrate it all on one spot, instead he made sure to get it just about all over so that nothing became too brittle or flaked off.

He phased through the floor twice, making it to the buffet area. He saw that Togedemaru had a large stack of pancakes with bacon, eggs, Oran Berries, sausages, and syrup all over them. He rolled his eyes at her gluttony before floating over to the island with all of the food. He got a plate and grabbed two waffles and a bowl of oatmeal; he didn't eat a lot.

Once he was done, he floated out of the room, passing by Hakamo-o as she was coming in. He stopped immediately and chuckled to himself before turning back around.

"Hey, Hakamo-o…" he started, getting her attention.

"What?" she asked, her tone signalling that she didn't want to deal with anyone just yet. However, he didn't care.

"Oh I just thought that you'd like to know that Passimian likes you…" he said haughty before continuing on with his plate. "Enjoy breakfast…"

Hakamo-o twitched after hearing that. She didn't know whether to be flattered or angry. She never had a guy like her before. However, she was unsure about whether she should believe Dhelmise or not, knowing his sarcastic nature. He could be lying for all she knew. But, what if he wasn't?

She growled to herself.

 **000**

" **Fucking Dhelmise. That was NOT something I wanted to hear today!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "I don't know what to do with that! This has never happened before and frankly, I don't really care for the situation!"**

" **Sure, Passimian's decent looking, but why the hell would I want a relationship in a competition? Especially if we're on opposing teams!?"**

 **000**

After receiving that news, Hakamo-o immediately went back up to the third floor, banging on Lycanroc's door. Certainly _she_ had experience with this.

After a while, a groggy Lycanroc opened the door, rubbing her eyes. "What's up Haka?" she yawned.

"Dhelmise just told me that Passimian likes me…"

"WHAT?!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "Damn it, Dhelmise! I told him not to tell anyone."

"Wait...you KNEW?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Well...yeah", Lycanroc said, rubbing her left arm. "Y'see, me, Dhelmise, Pyukumuku, and a few others from the other team played truth or dare before the last challenge. The bottle landed on him and I asked him his opinion on all of us girls."

"And…?"

"He...just so happened to say that you were his type", she revealed. "He said that he likes feisty and serious chicks…"

Hakamo-o couldn't help but blush, folding her arms. "Well, you tell him that I'm not interested…"

"Wait...what?" Lycanroc queried. "This could be your chance to have a boyfriend for once! Why are you gonna push it away?!"

"We're in a competition! We're not here for relationships!"

Lycanroc groaned. "Get in here and wait…"

"Wait for what?"

"Just do it…" Lycanroc said as she left her room and Hakamo-o entered.

She took a seat on Lycanroc's couch, which was now completely shredded, with cushioning and fabric scattered all over the floor. A few minutes later, Lycanroc returned with Oricorio, who was in her Baile Style yet again.

"Uh...why'd you bring Oricorio?"

"Because we need to have a girl talk about this…" Lycanroc stated as she sat on the floor in front of her; Oricorio stood next to Hakamo-o on the couch.

"What is there to talk about?" Hakamo-o asked abrasively. "I'm only here for the competition, not for a boyfriend!"

"Bueno, and why do you have that mindset, chica?" Oricorio asked.

Hakamo-o scoffed in disbelief. "Why don't you girls have this mindset?!" she countered.

"Because we're here to have fun, too", Lycanroc answered. "What's the point of being in the competition if you're not gonna try to at least have fun while you're here?"

"Well I'm sorry, but I'd rather just focus on winning, okay?" Hakamo-o replied. "I may not have watched most of these shows, but I'm smart enough to know that relationships cause issues and show weakness…" she stated, folding her arms.

Oricorio and Lycanroc exchanged looks.

"And uh...where are you procuring this knowledge?" asked Lycanroc. "Because based on the shows that I've seen, a relationship is the strongest thing you can have in these games…"

"How?" Hakamo-o replied. "Has anyone ever won while being in a relationship in these games? As in it AIDED them the entire time?"

"See, now you're just pushing it…" said Lycanroc stated. "Yes, numerous females have won these competitions while they're in a relationship...in that same competition. Sometimes the guy gets eliminated, leaving her alone, but she can still do it."

"Si, you make it sound like having a man will drag you down…"

"Do you girls even hear yourselves?" asked Hakamo-o. "Don't you know how dumb and risky it is to try and be in a relationship with someone you hardly know? In the shows I've seen, some of the players get into relationship in just four episodes as if they know everything about each other and start proclaiming their love and all of that other crap. It isn't natural!"

"No one said you had to be that way with him!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "You can easily get to know him if you guys just take it slow and talk first. THEN if you gain interest, you guys get together. It's simple."

"Simple to you…" Hakamo-o said, crossing her legs. "I just don't see things working out…"

"You don't know if you don't try…" said Oricorio. "And chica, you are going to try…"

"WHAT?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "No I'm not. We're on opposite teams; he hasn't said anything directly to me regarding this and I'm not interested!"

"You'd better fake it to make it, girlfriend…" Lycanroc replied. "We're not gonna let you blow this chance…"

Hakamo-o growled. "How'd you girls like if someone forced you to go out with someone you didn't care about?"

The two exchanged looks. "Well, that's already happened to me twice…" Lycanroc stated. "So...I already have experience."

"And I've been pursued by complete losers in my life outside of this game…" Oricorio stated. "So, I know it's not pleasant."

Hakamo-o facepalmed before her stomach growled. She hadn't even eaten anything; as soon as Dhelmise told her about Passimian, she came right back up.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast", Lycanroc said. "While we're down there we can go over some etiquette for when you and Passimian start talking…"

Hakamo-o sighed in exasperation.

 **000**

"Mudsdale, you are NOT going up there", Gumshoos said, blocking the door to her room with her arms folded.

"Why not?" Mudsdale asked with a glare.

"You've been all over Bewear since MONDAY!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure you're fucking pregnant by now. You need to stop!"

Mudsdale growled, but decided to give in for now. It was true, she and Bewear _did_ have sex fifteen more times since Monday. She had just forgotten how good he was and she just yearned for more. His touch, his size, his forcefulness...she wanted. No, she _needed_ it.

"Mudsdale?" Gumshoos asked, seeing that Mudsdale had drawn a blank and was just staring at the door. She was really worried about her, but also confused. She still couldn't get why Mudsdale was suddenly acting like a nympho regarding Bewear when she practically acted like the guy was a piece of shit prior to the last challenge! She wanted to know more about Mudsdale, but she still wouldn't answer her.

She then gained an idea. She was standing in the way of Mudsdale getting what she wanted, so maybe she could get the info now in exchange for her leaving the room.

"Okay, Mudsdale...I'm gonna cut you a deal here…"

"What kind of deal?" Mudsdale asked, raising a brow.

"You tell me what the hell was going on between you and Bewear in the past and what's brought all of this back up...and I'll let you out of here…"

Mudsdale gave her a look. There she went again, trying to pry into her private life. "Why does this matter so much to you? What are you going to get out of it?"

"I'm only curious due to your former abrasiveness and current amorous behavior towards Bewear", Gumshoos explained. "Since I'm going to be a lawyer and criminal investigator, I'm going to ask questions about things I'm unsure about…"

"Well I'm sorry, but it ISN'T a crime to want to be pounded…" Mudsdale stated. "So, if you'll excuse me-"

"Mudsdale…" Gumshoos said, standing firm in front of the door. "Tell me. What's...going...on?"

Mudsdale growled. "Fine! We used to fuck when we were kids. I ended it when I evolved. He kept following me and scaring away all of my potential new boy toys. I signed up for this show and he did, too, apparently. There…"

"Wow...that's uh…"

"Yeah…" Mudsdale said with a glare. "Now if you'd be so kind to let me out…"

"Okay...but at least be careful!" Gumshoos said. "You're not even supposed to be having sex here! And remember-"

"Pregnancy equals elimination", she said, with Mudsdale saying it at the exact same time.

"I get it…" Mudsdale said as Gumshoos moved out of the way. She exited the room and Gumshoos sighed.

 **000**

" **I wish Gumshoos would just mind her own business. What me and Bewear do is our business...even if it gets explicit at times!" Mudsdale said.**

 **000**

" **Well...at least now I know…" Gumshoos stated. "She needs to lay off the bear meat if she wants to stay focused in the game. She's gonna end up getting voted out or eliminated if she doesn't!"**

" **It doesn't help that she chooses not to listen to me…"**

 **000**

Incineroar was snoozing in his bed, a tent pitched, with a wide smile fixed on his face as he purred. After the conversation with his hubby-to-be earlier, his dreams had been a LOT more vivid. Just vivid enough for a certain someone to benefit…

Drampa, who had been peering through everyone's windows as they slept, caught a glimpse of the tiger's condition and licked his lips. "Tasty morsel…"

He opened the window from the outside and pushed it inside, allowing him to enter silently. Incineroar rolled onto his side, facing away from the pervy dragon. Drampa chuckled to himself and prepared to climb into his bed when-

"CONTESTANTS!"

"AH!" Drampa yelled, falling back just as Incineroar jumped awake from the sudden bluster. He saw Drampa on his floor and growled ferociously as the announcement continued. Drampa quickly made his escape back out of the window as Incineroar attempted to kill him.

"I REPEAT! 10 O'CLOCK AM! That is all…"

Incineroar looked at the clock and saw that it was 9. He growled and started punching the air. He wanted to actually finish his dream this time! The other times this week he was be fine, but talking to his fiancé made him extremely libidinous. He slammed his window shut and locked it from the inside this time. He groaned, rubbing his face.

He was gonna have to get him out of his mind now; it was just about challenge time. He was definitely going to pummel Drampa to a pulp when he saw him again, though. He entered his bathroom to take care of his usual business, and after about ten minutes, he exited and headed to down to the buffet area for breakfast.

 **-000-**

Once he was down there, he immediately saw Drampa going in. He growled angrily and ran toward him, pouncing on him and pinning him down. "You sick FUCK!" he roared as he used Flamethrower, which didn't do much to him due to his Dragon-typing. He used Throat Chop shortly after, causing Drampa to choke, gasp, and cough.

"Incineroar, what are you doing?" asked Lycanroc, not really showing any concern for Drampa, who Incineroar was still angrily straddling and punching.

"This bastard broke into my room!" he growled, wrapping his arms around Drampa's throat, unknowingly arousing the Placid Pokemon. He soon realized this, however.

"What the hell!?" Incineroar exclaimed jumping off of him. Drampa blushed before getting back on his stomach, gasping for air with a small smile. "You are a sick freak!"

Drampa shrugged. "You're the one who started it. You shouldn't just randomly choke people anyway, you might not know what they're into…" he said with a wink before slithering out of the door.

Incineroar clenched his fists, wanting to go after him and teach him a lesson, but he was pulled back by Lycanroc.

"He's not worth it. You may even end up getting him off more…" Lycanroc said.

"Remind us again...why the hell did you decide to keep THAT over Shiinotic?" Hakamo-o asked. "They're both disturbing, but a sexual predator over a freakshow that was spouting nonsense!?"

"Blame Passimian", Togedemaru said, still stuffing her face. "He insisted that we keep him in because Drampa convinced him that he does more than most of us on the team just because he won us the first challenge and helped us out in the second…"

Oricorio raised a brow. "Uh...sadly that's a valid reason…"

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know molestation and perviness was excused due to helping with two challenges…" Incineroar retorted, folding his arms as he sat down.

"It's not, but if he's helping your team, I can see why he wanted to keep him in…" Hakamo-o stated. "Can't let what happens outside of the challenges cloud your judgment…"

"So you'd keep him on your team?" asked Togedemaru, giving her a look.

"Well...no, after one time, he'd have been gone immediately…" she replied, folding her arms.

"Exactly…"

"Well, speaking on Passimian, let's get going…" said Lycanroc, standing back up.

"Uh...where are you going?" asked Incineroar as Oricorio took flight. Hakamo-o still sat.

"Well, Dhelmise spilled the beans about Passimian having a thing for Hakamo-o, so we're get them to start talking…" Lycanroc explained.

Incineroar looked at Hakamo-o, who had her arms folded with an aggravated look on her face, along with a blush. He chortled. "Well, good luck with that…" he laughed.

"Come on señorita…" Oricorio urged, nudging her out of her chair.

Hakamo-o groaned. "Fine", she said, standing up. "But I'm not gonna like it!"

The three of them headed out of the area, making Togedemaru roll her eyes as she continued eating.

 **000**

" **These morons seriously think that finding a relationship is going to do that bitch some good…" Togedemaru stated before sighing. "This is so fucking stupid…"**

 **000**

Passimian was upstairs playing Grand Theft Auto with Pyukumuku, who apparently knew nothing about it. His player, a Scrafty, was currently taking a Gardevoir's car.

"See", said Passimian. "You can pretty much do whatever you want, little guy…"

"Oh…" Pyukumuku said, as Passimian put the controller down in front of him. Pyukumuku's innards came out, and he used one of the fingers to press a button. Immediately, the Scrafty fell over, with the word 'Wasted' appearing over him as he fell over.

Passimian's eyes widened. "Well, uh…"

"Did I do good?" the Sea Cucumber Pokemon asked.

"Um…."

The elevators dinged and Passimian turned around, seeing Lycanroc and Oricorio heading in his direction with small smiles. He grew suspicious. He understood Lycanroc, but Oricorio? He thought nothing of it and decided to just keep watching Pyukumuku play.

The little guy had moved the analog stick and ended up getting hit by a car, getting the 'Wasted' screen again.

Passimian sweatdropped, but Pyukumuku seemed to be enjoying himself, so he just let him be. However, as he did that, Lycanroc and Oricorio ended up right behind them. He felt a pair of furry arms wrap around his neck and he sighed before standing up straight, lifting Lycanroc up with him. The 6 foot lemur looked at the wolf from the corner of his eye with a neutral expression that asked 'Why?'.

Lycanroc dropped down with her same smile. "So...how you feelin'~?"

"Uh...I'm fine…" Passimian replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Why do you ask?"

"Well...we have someone that we want you to talk to…" Oricorio said with a smile.

"Talk t-" Passimian started before giving Lycanroc and vexed expression. "I thought you said you weren't going to talk about it…"

"Hey, blame Dhelmise, not me…" Lycanroc retorted. "He's the one who blabbed to her…"

Passimian sat down with a groan, his head in his hands. "Do we seriously have to do this? Like I fucking said, I wasn't interested. I just said that she's my type!"

"Do you hear yourself, dude?" Lycanroc asked. "That's like me saying, 'Man, I love cake', but then when someone asks me if I want some, I say no!"

"Órale chico, you need to try", Oricorio stated. "Hakamo-o es the same way! She thinks that relationships deter progress in these competitions…"

"Uh...I actually sorta agree…" Passimian said. "That's why I'm not interested. I'd rather focus on myself than someone else that I barely know…"

"THANK YOU!" they heard as Hakamo-o walked forward with her arms folded. "I'm glad to hear you say that", she said with a smile. She turned to Lycanroc and Oricorio, who exchanged looks of exasperation. "Now do you two see that this was hopeless?"

"It's not hopeless in the slightest…" Lycanroc said. "You two are gonna end up getting together by the end of this competition. I guarantee it…"

"I sincerely doubt that…" Hakamo-o said, her tone signifying that she was adamant. She started heading back towards the elevator and the two couldn't help but notice Passimian's eyes going to Hakamo-o's backside. They exchanged small smiles before seeing him huff and turn back to Pyukumuku.

 **000**

" **They want each other. It's all too obvious…" Lycanroc stated.**

 **000**

 **Oricorio sighed. "Amour...muy sincello, yet muy difícil…"**

 **000**

 **Passimian chuckled. "Those girls are crazy. Sure, Hakamo-o's cute and everything, but if she's that adamant about not getting with me, why push?"**

" **If she comes to me about it? Okay. If not, okay. Like I said, most relationships hinder rather than help out in these things…"**

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o was blushing. "I told them there was no point, but they went with it anyway…"**

" **I was hoping that Passimian wouldn't actually try it, but...now I don't know if I should feel glad that I'm right, or upset that I was right…" Hakamo-o said, fiddling with her claws.**

" **Aw screw it. There's a challenge in about nine minutes and I don't have time to worry about this BS…"**

 **000**

Bewear and Mudsdale were in a vending room on the fifth floor. They had just finished up their sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth rounds this week and were now cleaning up the mess that they'd made. Well...Mudsdale was, happily.

Bewear was sitting against the wall, watching Mudsdale cleanup. He was completely tuckered out now. She didn't completely drain away his strength, but he was still tired from the three consecutive rounds. He saw her demeanor and behavior and was surprised, but also not surprised that she was still up and able. She did have the Stamina ability after all…

He rose up and started to leave the area, remembering about the challenge.

"Bewear~"

The Strong Arm Pokemon stopped and turned around to see the Draft Horse directly behind him with a smile on her face. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Challenge…" Bewear stated simply.

"Challe-" Mudsdale started, initially confused before coming back to reality. "Shit, the challenge! We definitely need to go. Hop on!"

Bewear climbed onto her back and she started rushing toward the elevators.

 **000**

Everyone else had already it to the terminal, where Solgaleo was waiting. The only ones left were Bewear and Mudsdale and the Sunne Pokemon was getting impatient.

Soon enough, massive stomping was heard and felt. Turning around, Mudsdale came up with Bewear on her back.

"About time you all arrived…" Solgaleo stated with a glare.

"You're not gonna give a penalty are you?" Dhelmise asked, feigning fright.

"Y'know just for that sarcasm, I just might…" Solgaleo threatened, causing his teammates to glare at him. He groaned. "Now, onto business…" he continued.

The ferry pulled up behind him just as he said that. "The next challenge will be held on Ula'Ula Island."

Hearing that, Incineroar's face lit up and his tail began swishing energetically. "And uh...you said that we have twenty minutes if we just so happen to be around our homes, right?"

"...Yeah…"

Incineroar's smile grew wider and his body shuddered slightly out of excitement.

 **000**

" **YEESS!" Incineroar roared, his arms raised.**

 **000**

"Alright, if there aren't any other questions, comments, or concerns, come aboard. No wasting time…" Solgaleo said as the ramp of the ferry dropped. The contestants all followed him on with haste, most of them wanting to hang at the pool.

 **-000-**

Unlike the last time they were all on the boat, all of the competitors met around the swimming pool and playing area in the ferry's middle.

"Who wants to play two truths and a lie?" Dhelmise asked, wanting more info.

"Nah, who wants to play Marco Polo!?" Lycanroc suggested.

"Oh, oh, me!" Pyukumuku urged enthusiastically, raising his innards-hand.

"Oh come on, that's not productive!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"Who cares?" Togedemaru countered. "Just let them have their little fun…"

Dhelmise groaned as Lycanroc covered her eyes and tried finding Pyukumuku, who was just sitting like a stone at the bottom of the pool. "Marco…"

"Polo!" Pyukumuku said, but was slightly inaudible underwater, only bubbles coming to the surface.

"Marco!" Lycanroc repeated.

"Polo!" Pyukumuku returned.

The others, seeing where this was going, just remained silent and exchanged looks of annoyance. This game was going to take a while...a _long_ while. After about ten minutes, everyone had started getting annoyed at hearing and seeing the same interactions with no progress. Lycanroc was circling the pool with her eyes closed, not getting close to Pyukumuku at all.

Pretty soon, everyone started to leave the pool, leaving the two alone.

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

"ULA'ULA OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!" Solgaleo roared from the terrace above the captain's quarters, similar to the first ferry ride.

"Dang it…" Lycanroc said as she opened her eyes and saw that everyone had left. "What the-HEY!"

She looked down underwater and saw Pyukumuku sitting at the bottom of the pool. She facepalmed.

 **-000-**

Everyone was at the bow, watching as the ferry got closer to the island. Lycanroc, with Pyukumuku sitting on her shoulder walked up, both wet.

"Gee, thanks for just leaving us there, guys…" she commented, folding her arms.

"Gee, thanks for assaulting our ears and brains with your repetitiveness", Dhelmise countered.

"We seriously watched you circle the pool for ten minutes trying to tag Pyukumuku, who was sitting at the bottom of the damn pool the whole time…" Togedemaru replied. "Needless to say...it got annoying…"

"You could have just told me!" Lycanroc said, walking next to Incineroar, who had a dreamy look on his face as he stared at the approaching island. Seeing this, she raised a brow and nudged him.

"What's up, Big Pussy?" she asked.

Upon hearing that, Incineroar's expression immediately changed to one of somberness. "Really?" he asked, giving her a look.

Lycanroc shrugged. "So spill…"

Incineroar looked around and saw that they were surrounded by others. He wasn't going to risk it. "I'll tell you later…" he whispered to her.

Seeing this interaction, both Dhelmise and Togedemaru grew suspicious.

 **000**

The ferry stopped at Ula'Ula Island's Ferry Terminal and the ramp lowered, allowing the remaining competitors and Solgaleo to climb off.

"What? No 'majestic' leap this time?" Dhelmise queried.

"Seaweed, do not make me burn you…" Solgaleo growled.

"You're not a Fire-type…"

Solgaleo used Flamethrower, knocking the Sea Creeper Pokemon out immediately, leaving the others either entertained, frightened, or indifferent.

"Any more sass?" Solgaleo question with a solemn tone.

Nobody replied, which he expected. "Good. Now, we're gonna teleport to Po Town and-"

"Wait!" Incineroar exclaimed, interrupting Solgaleo. The lion glared at him. "What?"

"Can I uh...have my twenty minutes?" asked Incineroar, his legs quivering like jelly. "My apartments are down near Tapu Village…"

Solgaleo just stared at him. "I just said that we're teleporting…" Solgaleo stated harshly. "And, if you recall what I said, the twenty minutes only count IF we go to or pass your city. We're going to PO TOWN, not Tapu Village, so…"

Incineroar twitched, clenching his fists with a growl.

"Now that we've got that settled…" Solgaleo said. "Let's get going…"

 **000**

 **Incineroar huffed with his arms folded. "Bastard…"**

 **000**

Solgaleo, along with the twelve contestants, appeared in front of the Po Town doors on Route 17. It was raining rather heavily, with no sunshine visible at all.

"All right…" Solgaleo said. "It is time for your first challenge…"

"In the rain!?" Gumshoos exclaimed. "We'll end up getting sick!"

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to really care?" asked Solgaleo. "It's called a challenge for a reason."

"And by doing this, you'll be at risk of getting us colds or worse, pneumonia…." Gumshoos replied. "And if we become fatally ill, we will be able to sue you for abuse of a minor…"

Solgaleo gave her a look. "Viruses and bacteria cause pneumonia, not rain, Miss Know-It-All…"

"No, but the resulting cold and develop into pneumonia, which will-"

Solgaleo gave her a death glare.

"Gumshoos. Stop...talking…" Passimian said, noticing his glare.

"But this is-"

"You act like some of us didn't play in the rain as kids", Togedemaru stated. "It's fine. Now, what's the challenge, Mufasa?"

Solgaleo gave her a look. "I don't appreciate that comparison considering that he DIED, but...fine."

The Sunne Pokemon kicked the doors open as thunder boomed. Looking inside, there were numerous hurdles lining down the middle of the road. There were two rows of hurdles, seven in each that increased in size until they reached an old, rusted red truck.

The shrubs and hedges were still lush and green, compared to the rather shoddy condition of the rest of the town. The Pokemon Center was still standing, but it had a bit of graffiti of it. Graffiti also covered the path all of the contestants were on. The street lights weren't on and a few were broken. There were a few houses there as well, but they appeared to be condemned. The only one that looked suitable to live in was the one at the far end of the town that resembled a large mansion.

"Now, the first challenge is fairly simple; a hurdle race", Solgaleo started. "Two at a time, one player from each team will have to run and leap over each hurdle. You will continue this until each player from your team has reached the red truck. The first team to have all of their players at that truck will get an advantage in the second challenge…"

Both Hakamo-o and Passimian gained smiles.

"Alright...I'll give you all a few minutes to get yourselves situated…" Solgaleo stated. "Then the challenge will begin…"

Both teams immediately separated.

 **-000-**

"Alright, so who's going to go first?" Hakamo-o asked enthusiastically.

Nobody said anything. Instead, they exchanged glances. Dhelmise only groaned. "Is there even a point in us trying?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Pyukumuku.

"...YOU!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "You are smaller than all of those hurdles, while the rest of us are bigger and able to jump."

"Oh...right…" Pyukumuku said glumly.

"Aw, don't worry Pyukumuku, we'll figure something out…." Lycanroc said with a smile.

"So, after him, who do we have?" asked Oricorio, hiding underneath Dhelmise to avoid the rain.

"I think that as long as Pyukumuku is first, we'll be fine…" Hakamo-o stated. "Like Dhelmise said, he's the smallest…"

 **-000-**

"Alright, we need full power to go first, so I'll go first and get us a good lead", Passimian said. "Anyone willing to go after?"

"It doesn't really matter to me…" said Mudsdale. "So, I guess I'll go next."

"Okay, and after her?" asked Passimian.

"I'm going last…" said Incineroar, his arms still folded in vexation because he couldn't go home for a while.

"Uh...okay?" Passimian replied, a bit confused by his decision. "Why, though? That'd make you the scapegoat if we lost!"

"I know what I'm doing, man…" Incineroar replied with a serious expression.

"Uh...okay…" Passimian said, still confused, but unwilling to continue pestering. "Any other place requests?"

"Um...I guess I'll go fourth…" Gumshoos stated.

"Third place for me!" Togedemaru stated quickly.

"Well...looks like I'm going fifth…" Drampa said before getting hit with another Throat Chop by Incineroar.

"Fuck you…" he growled.

 **000**

"Alright, are both teams ready?" asked Solgaleo, alerting both teams that their time was actually up.

Both teams came back over.

"Yeah", Oricorio replied. "But, uh...un pregunta. Are we allowed to help teammates?"

"No…" Solgaleo stated.

"Crap…" Hakamo-o muttered.

"Any more 'preguntas'?" asked Solgaleo.

"No…"

"Good. Now let's get started. Whoever's going first...get to your places…"

 **-000-**

Passimian got situated first and soon enough, Pyukumuku hopped over. Passimian frowned at this, expecting to face someone that was actually a challenge. No offense to Pyukumuku.

"Well…" Solgaleo started as thunder boomed once again. "This is...rather uneven…"

"Just get it over with!" Incineroar exclaimed, now standing in the doorway to avoid getting wet. He had tolerated enough rain. Oricorio followed his example and flew over to stand there as well.

Solgaleo rolled his eyes. "In 3...2...1...GO!"

Passimian took off running in an instant, leaping over the hurdles like nothing. Pyukumuku, using his innards hand, jumped up slightly, grabbing onto the first hurdle before flinging himself over.

Passimian continued his way over the hurdles of increasing height. He jumped up and hurled himself over, landing on all fours. He sauntered over to the truck and leaned against it, only to slip off due to the rain.

"Okay...next Lunala!" Solgaleo said as he stood in front of the disheveled Pokemon center to view the entire race.

Hearing that, Mudsdale immediately started rushing toward the first hurdle. Despite her tremendous weight, she jumped up high and soared over the first two hurdles, causing a miniature earthquake.

Pyukumuku was jostled about as she continued jumping over the hurdles. Now, her weight did begin to hinder her when the hurdles reached five feet. When she jumped, her hooves started knocking over the hurdles instead of clearing them. She didn't let it stop her, though, and she continued. Eventually, she made it to the end after plowing into the final hurdle.

"That's not fair! She knocked them over!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"Didn't say it wasn't allowed…" Solgaleo stated. "I just said that you couldn't help teammates…"

The Solgaleos all groaned.

 **000**

" **Why...is always our team...that gets FUCKED OVER!?" Hakamo-o exclaimed angrily.**

 **000**

Pyukumuku was regaining his composure as Togedemaru started her turn. She jumped over the first hurdle with a bit of difficulty, as her large breakfast was starting to come back and haunt her. Her stomach growled and she groaned as she tumbled on the ground before the next hurdle.

"Next Solgaleo!"

"Wait, what?" Incineroar asked before not seeing Pyukumuku anywhere. "Oh that's bullshit! There's no way!"

"You shoulda been paying more attention to him…" said Dhelmise. "Oh, wait, nevermind. You can't risk the rainfall…"

"What?!" Incineroar growled, stepping back into the rain.

"Wet pussy...a delicacy among most men…" Dhelmise commented as the tiger began getting drenched again.

Incineroar growled.

"Well, time for me to go since gluttony is hindering your team…" Dhelmise said. He turned back around and saw that both Bewear and Oricorio had gone while he antagonized Incineroar. It was good thing, but it wasn't like him to be _that_ unfocused.

"GO!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Okay, okay...geez", Dhelmise said as he decided to amuse Solgaleo by floating over each hurdle individually, his anchor touching the ground each time. Usually ghosts and psychic-types couldn't use their abilities or they'd get called out, so he thought he'd just cut out the middleman.

Lycanroc immediately went next, jumping over the first two hurdles with ease. She grabbed onto the top of the next one and helped propel herself over. She grabbed onto the top of the next one, with it wobbling a bit before she cleared it.

Meanwhile, Togedemaru was just getting on the fourth one.

"COME ON TOGEDEMARU!" Passimian exclaimed.

"DON'T YOU THINK I'M TRYING?!" she shouted back with a glare as she climbed up and dropped from the hurdle.

Lycanroc did a flip off of the final hurdle, almost losing her balance. Luckily, Bewear caught her.

"Gee...thanks dude", she thanked.

Seeing this, Mudsdale cleared her throat with a glare. Bewear, seeing this glare, immediately dropped her, causing Lycanroc to yip upon hitting the ground.

Hakamo-o decided to take her time, seeing as they still had more players left. She hopped over the first hurdle easily and the second one followed. She watched Togedemaru struggle with the fifth hurdle and giggled to herself as she continued leaping over the hurdles on her side. She almost slipped going to the sixth one, but she recomposed herself and continued forward.

She jumped over the sixth one before climbing up the side of the final one and jumping off upon making it to the top. She dusted her hands off with a smirk.

"AND THE SOLGALEOS WIN!"

The Solgaleos all cheered, while the Lunalas all groaned.

"Now, let's get to the Shady House for your next challenge…" Solgaleo directed as everyone started heading to the house at the other side of town.

 **000**

" **Well...that wasn't part of my plan, BUT at least we have a possibility to lose again…" Togedemaru said. "Gotta thank my gut…"**

 **Her stomach grumbled, causing her to groan once again. "Nevermind…no thanks…"**

 **000**

Everyone approached the Shady House. The large mansion, up close, looked much shabbier than initially thought. It was covered in grime and graffiti, with a few broken windows and rotting wood blocking a few in a poor attempt to fix them. There was a terrace above the door that had paint oozing from it.

Solgaleo pushed the blue doors open and entered, with the other contestants following suit. Once inside, they either started drying themselves off or waited for further instruction, the water not causing them discomfort.

Lycanroc got on all fours and started shaking to get the water out of her fur, unintentionally wetting the others around her in the process.

"Watch it, bow wow!" Togedemaru exclaimed, most of the water splashing towards her and Gumshoos.

Lycanroc giggled. "Sorry", she said, rising back to her feet.

Solgaleo entered his Radiant Sun Phase and easily evaporated the water off of his body, as well as few others' bodies who were close to him. "Okay. Welcome...to the the Shady House, or Shady Chateau as some call it…"

"...Yawn…" Dhelmise stated. "This place just looks like the stereotypical frat house that gets trashed after a huge party."

"Thank you for the unwanted input…" Solgaleo replied with a glare. "Now, your challenge…"

"It'd better not be hide and seek or something…" Incineroar stated, folding his arms.

"Well, it's kind of like that…" Solgaleo said. "However, you guys will only be seeking. Your challenge is to find evolution items around this place…"

Everyone gave him a look. Solgaleo, seeing these looks, groaned and rolled his eyes. "What?"

"You've already had us looking for stupid Z-Crystals in the first challenge, now we have to search for evolutionary items in this dump?!" Mudsdale questioned with a glare.

"Hey, you can choose not to do it and both teams can lose a player if you guys feel so-"

There were immediately exclamations of rejection and interjections that took back their complaints. Solgaleo grinned. "That's what I thought."

Everyone was silent, but a few of them had expressions on their faces that spoke for themselves.

"Now, like I said, you must find as many evolutionary items as you can around here. However, there is a catch. Each evolutionary item requires you to do something in order to retrieve it", he continued. "There are also traps laid out around this place that will hinder your progress. Along with that, there are two other Pokemon somewhere in this house that will be hunting you all down and stealing items from you…"

Everyone stared in surprise and shock. This was nothing like the first challenge, as they initially thought.

"Wait wait wait...you're saying that our goal is to collect as many evolution items as we can…" Passimian started.

"Yes…"

"But each one is pretty much hidden or unavailable until we do something to retrieve it…" Passimian continued.

"That is correct…"

"And there are other traps that will get in our way, as well as two random Pokemon that we don't know stealing the items that we get…" he finished.

"Precisely…"

Passimian groaned, holding his head.

"Well, this es going to be un largo dia…" Oricorio said exasperatedly.

"Yes it is…" Solgaleo replied. "Now. You have exactly five hours to fully explore this house and find as many evolutionary items as you can. Be sure to watch your backs as well, as you ARE allowed to steal from the other team. Not saying that it'd be a good choice, but you are able to…"

They all exchanged glances.

"The challenge begins...NOW!"

 **000**

The Solgaleos started heading upstairs upon seeing the Lunalas scatter about the bottom. There was a fallen chandelier on the right set of stairs following the first set, so Bewear picked it up and swiftly tossed it towards the front door, causing it to be embedded inside.

"Uh...I don't think that was-"

"Come on!" Hakamo-o shouted from upstairs, regaining everyone's attention as they rushed up.

 **-000-**

One of the doors further back down the hall creaked open and a sparkle-shaped eye was seen, staring at them.

 **-000-**

"Alright...do we need to split up or not?" asked Dhelmise. "In this type of challenge it's practically required. "Traps and only two Pokemon that are trying to steal from us? It'll be much easier."

"Yeah, that sounds about right, Haka…" said Lycanroc. "Splitting up for this sounds like it'll be more efficient…"

Hakamo-o groaned. She really didn't think splitting up would do them any good. If they got caught in a trap after getting an item, someone from another team or one of the thieving Pokemon could get to them.

"Let's just find a few together before we do that…"

"That raises the chance of us getting robbed!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"How?" Hakamo-o retorted. "With more of us, we're able to defend ourselves better. Going alone is much more of a risk…"

"Both ideas have defectos, so let's just focus on the main challenge instead of arguing…" Oricorio stated.

"I agree", Lycanroc said. "If we're going to win, we've gotta reach an impasse and just proceed…"

"You all can proceed, but I'm going alone...:" Dhelmise stated as he started floating away. "That way at least the Pokemon after us can only go for one of us…"

"There's TWO!"

"Yes...one per team. I thought that'd be obvious…" Dhelmise said as he floated back downstairs.

Hakamo-o growled at his defiance, but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Well. At least we know who to vote for if we end up losing the challenge…" she said calmly, causing the others to exchange looks.

Hakamo-o turned back around and the others just stood there, waiting. She rubbed the back of her head before looking at the door next to them. "Come on, let's check this room out first…"

Bewear punched through the door abruptly, causing a few of them to jump. Pyukumuku sighed and sweatdropped. "Bewear. There's a knob there…" Pyukumuku said as Bewear looked at it and retracted his arm.

He opened the door, revealing a room full of beds. There was a glass case concealing a yellowish crown-shaped rock in the middle of the room. There was a bit of an odd atmosphere in the room, as if they weren't supposed to be there. This was amplified as some of the paint peeled off of the back wall. The removal revealed scratches that spelled out specific instructions, or actually...just numbers.

"2, 4, 1, 3…" Pyukumuku read from the wall. "Huh. What does that mean?"

Bewear went towards the case and attempted to break it. It didn't break at all, so he shrugged and took a step back.

"Well, apparently that case is indestructible…" said Lycanroc.

"Amigos! What if the numbers have something to do with the beds?" Oricorio asked, flying onto one of the beds. Upon landing on one, she felt something sharp under her feet, as if there was no mattress there at all. "Ooh...this bed feels weird…"

Pyukumuku went to another one of the beds and climbed up, falling through the sheets, revealing large spikes and wires. Following where the wires went, Lycanroc saw that they led under the bed Pyukumuku was on. There, she saw a rectangular shape that had buttons and a red timer ticking down. Her eyes widened.

"It's a bomb!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she rushed forward and flipped the bed over, showing the bomb in all of its glory. It was counting down and was currently on 4:30, 4:29, 4:28…

"W-What are we supposed to do!?" Pyukumuku blustered slipping from under the now flipped bed.

"Are all of these beds bombs is the better question..." stated Oricorio, not showing as much panic as the others, minus Bewear, who was just standing there, unfazed.

Hakamo-o checked the rest of the beds, and they all had identical set ups to the first. Spikes and wires with a bomb underneath.

"Okay, we need to do something before these things explode and impale us!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"That's the thing, we don't know what that something is!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "We just have four random numbers on the wall!"

"Okay, maybe we can-"

While the others started weighing their options, Pyukumuku decided to investigate the bomb of the bed he was initially on. Closely inspecting it, he noticed that the white buttons underneath the timer had faint numbers that blended in with the white. The numbers? 1, 2, 3, and 4.

He had an idea of what needed to happen. He looked back up at the wall. " _2, 4, 1, 3…._ "

He pressed the buttons in that sequence and, unsurprisingly, the timer stopped. He smiled and hopped down from the first one. He shuffled over while the others continued talking.

"Guys…"

They continued.

"GUYS…"

The little guy was still being tuned out. He sighed.

"GUYS!" he exclaimed as loud as he could, finally getting their attention.

"What, Pyukumuku?! We're trying to-"

"Press the buttons in the order on the wall!" the Sea Cucumber exclaimed.

Hearing that, Lycanroc raised a brow and walked over to another bed, while the others remained in their places.

"What are you talki-" Hakamo-o started.

"Wait, he's right. There's four buttons and four numbers…" Lycanroc said, eyeing the next bomb. She pressed the numbers in the sequence and the timer stopped. Her eyes widened before realizing that the bombs were probably going at the same time. The one she was currently at had 1:31.

"Guys, hurry! It works!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

Wasting no time, Oricorio flew to the one furthest back and Hakamo-o took the one next to Pyukumuku's. They both pressed the buttons in the sequence, effectively stopping the timers. Suddenly, a rapid ticking sound was heard, shocking them all.

"Hit the deck!" Lycanroc exclaimed as she jumped to the floor, covering her head. Pyukumuku just faced a small corner, while Oricorio flew out of the hole in the door created by Bewear.

Hakamo-o knew that her scales would protect her rather well, but she was still rather afraid. So, like Lycanroc, she hit the floor, covering her head. Bewear remained still.

Soon enough, the beds rumbled before faded out of existence. "Anticlimactic…" Bewear stated.

The others rose up, seeing what happened.

"Well...at least no one got hurt…." said Oricorio said.

The case covering the King's Rock popped off, with the case hitting Pyukumuku before rolling off.

Pyukumuku didn't say anything, as if nothing had happened.

Hakamo-o grabbed the King's Rock. "Alright, that's one…"

"Now...we have to watch ourselves…" said Lycanroc said.

"Si…"

 **000**

The Lunalas were currently in Room 3 on the first floor, the room right to the left of the staircase. As soon as they entered, they noticed numerous tables, boxes, and chairs scattered about, as well as buckets of paint and pictures that were framed., some ruined by pink and green paint. There was a fire place against the back wall that wasn't lit. Atop the mantle, though, was a glass case holding an orange stone with flames inside. It was locked in the case, needing a key to retrieve it.

At the moment, all of the contestants on the Lunalas were trying to decipher their 'instructions' on the wall written in pink and green paint. _Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, smoke in lungs, chip no rust_ was written in the pink paint. The words _Noitce lfer_ were written in green paint underneath the first statement.

"What the hell does this shit mean!?" Togedemaru exclaimed, reading over it for the fifth time.

"Notice Ifer…" Incineroar read before groaning, holding his face. "Who the hell is Ifer in the first place?!"

"I'm more concerned about the first part…" Mudsdale stated. "I understand the 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust' thing, but the rest of it is random…"

Drampa read the riddle to himself. Like Mudsdale, he understood the 'Ashes to ashes' part, he just needed to interpret the rest of the statement. He'd expected to Gumshoos to come up with the answer immediately since she was apparently the 'intelligent' type, but after looking around, he saw that she was entering the next room. He growled. If they lost again and they decided to put him in the bottom like they did last time, he was going to be pissed.

"Smoke in lungs…" Passimian stated. "So...does it have to do with cigarettes?"

"Cigs actually sound pretty good about now…" Incineroar stated, sitting on a table with his face sitting on his hands.

"You smoke?" asked Mudsdale.

"Yeah. I'm just not addicted…" Incineroar replied.

"Come on guys, we need to keep focus…" said Passimian. "Hmm...any ideas Gumshoos?"

He got no reply from her. "Gumshoos?" he asked before turning around and seeing that she wasn't there. "Whoa...where'd she go?"

"Oh, you mean the one that you think should actually start helping the team more? She's gone into that room…" Drampa said, pointing to the door to the far right of the room.

Passimian groaned. "If she doesn't stop sneaking off and actually try to help, she's gonna end up getting eliminated. We don't need any slackers!"

"Um...don't worry guys, I'll handle it…" said Mudsdale. She didn't want Gumshoos to be eliminated, but she also wouldn't mind because then they're be no one getting in the way of her and Bewear. " _Ugh...think with your head, not your cunt…"_ she said to herself.

"Well hopefully you speak some sense into her…" Passimian said. "Hey, maybe you two can search that room together and see if there's anything in there…"

Mudsdale nodded before heading to the door.

 **-000-**

The next room, rightfully dubbed 'Room 4', was completely empty. It resembled a pantry. There was a cabinet in the left corner, with a sink to the right of it. There were numerous kitchen racks around and a couple of empty, transparent fridges. There was a silver table in the middle of the floor, where Gumshoos was looking through a box sitting there. There were other boxes around near the table as well.

"Gumshoos, what are you doing?"

"What?" Gumshoos asked, continuing to look through the box. "I'm looking for more evolution items…"

"Oh…" Mudsdale said. "Well, you coulda told us! The others think you're still just being lazy…"

"Why? The statement is simple to understand, so I just came in here to try and look around early…"

"Simple? That's not simple"

"Yes it is…" Gumshoos replied. "All you have to do is-"

Before she could say anything, the box she was looking through yanked her inside before sealing her inside.

"What the hell?!" Mudsdale blustered out of shock.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE! IT SMELLS LIKE EGG SALAD!" Gumshoos exclaimed, punching the box with no effect.

"Ugh...this was probably a trap…" Mudsdale said as she attempted to go back out of the room. The door wouldn't open.

"Are you kidding me!?"

She backed up before charging forward; the door swung open, but she realized too late and ended up charging straight into the opposite wall of the room, knocking over a few of the boxes.

 **-000-**

Incineroar stifled a laugh. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

Mudsdale groaned as she reversed and shook her head to clear it out. Passimian went over to check on her, while the others either watched or continued trying to figure out the message on the wall.

"You okay?" he asked, wiping her head of a bit of dust

"Yeah…" Mudsdale started. "But Gumshoos is trapped!"

"What?!" Passimian exclaimed.

"Huh, she shoulda just stayed in here…" Drampa stated, not caring about her condition. He was still peeved about her talking him down before their elimination ceremony.

"For your information, perv, she already knows what we have to do in here!" Mudsdale stated with a glare. "She just went in that room to scope it out and see if there was anything in there…"

"Oh, so instead of telling us the answer so that we ALL can get the stone and move on together, she left us here to figure it out ourselves and went to look alone", Togedemaru reasoned. "Some teammate…"

"Guys, she meant well", Passimian stated, believing Mudsdale. " We can't fault her for getting trapped…"

"How do we know she's not just covering for her, though?" asked Drampa. "Those two have been buddy-buddy for most of the time here. What if she had just gotten trapped and Mudsdale came here to tell us that lie so that we can just help her?"

Mudsdale glared at him. "Come on…" she said as she started walking towards the room again.

 **-000-**

Inside, Gumshoos was still fighting to get out of the box. "Ugh...this is bull! The one time that I'm actually able to show some usage and I get trapped in a damn box…"

The door opened and Mudsdale, Passimian, and Drampa entered, while Incineroar and Togedemaru just waited. The box that Gumshoos was trapped in constantly moved inch by inch before finally falling onto the floor. "Ow!"

"See!"

Passimian picked up the box. "Gumshoos, are you okay?"

"Sorta…" she replied. "Not much oxygen in here…"

"Well don't worry, we're gonna get you out…"

"Eventually…" Drampa muttered.

Passimian attempted to break the box, but he only ended up causing Gumshoos pain. Blow after blow caused dents to appear on the box.

"Stop!" Gumshoos exclaimed, which Passimian promptly did. "Just...get Incineroar to use his claws…"

"Yeah, that makes more sense…" Passimian said as he placed the box down. "Drampa, get Incineroar."

Drampa groaned, rolling his eyes. He exited the room. "Incineroar! You are need in Room 4…" he stated.

A couple of seconds later, Incineroar entered the room, and upon seeing the dented box, he laughed. "Wow...didn't know she liked to box…"

"That's not funny!"

"Says you…" Incineroar retorted, sitting against the table. "So, what am I here for?"

"Use your claws to open this damn box!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Hmm...I don't appreciate your tone…" Incineroar said teasingly.

Passimian sighed and put his hand on Incineroar's shoulder, making the tiger blush faintly. "Dude...just do it…"

Incineroar growled. "Fine…"

The tiger walked up to the box and used his claws to puncture holes in the box, tearing it open and releasing her.

Gumshoos fell on the ground and groaned before standing back up. "Thanks…"

"Alright, now that you're out, how about helping us with whatever the hell the message in the other room is supposed to mean?" asked Drampa.

Gumshoos glared at him.

 **-000-**

Togedemaru was just sitting on a table waiting for the others to come back out. After a while, they finally returned, with Gumshoos leading.

"About time…" Togedemaru muttered. "How was your package deal?"

Gumshoos glared at her. "No box jokes. I would've had a panic attack if I was claustrophobic…"

"But you're not, so…."

"Alright, enough…" Passimian said. "Now what's the solution to this?" he asked, pointing to the wall.

In response, Gumshoos headed toward the fireplace. She began looking inside and felt around the ash and wood. To her surprise...nothing was there.

"Wha-I could have sworn…"

"What?" asked Passimian. "What's supposed to be in there?"

"Well, the wall is essentially pointing to the fireplace!" Gumshoos said, standing back up and dusting off her hands. " **Ash** es to **ash** es, **dust** to **dust** , **smoke** in lungs, **chip** no rust…"

"Oh...well... _now_ it makes sense…" Incineroar said propping himself against the wall while rolling his eyes.

"Hold on...if there's nothing there...that means that she was wrong and it was pointless worrying about her!" Togedemaru exclaimed with a glare.

"It isn't pointless to help a teammate…" Passimian said, folding his arms.

"It is if she's the most useless one…" Drampa added. "Hell Shiinotic was more useful!"

"Um, excuse me, but **I** was the one who figured this out!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Nothing's there. Hence, you're wrong…" Drampa replied.

Gumshoos growled before going back to the fireplace to look again. She noticed that something was off, as if it had already been disturbed before she first looked. How could she tell after already looking the first time? Years of study and memory.

She got back up. "I think someone stole what we needed to get…"

"Nice try…" said Drampa. "Solgaleo said the thieves were after the evolution items, not the crap leading up to us retrieving it."

He turned to Passimian and Mudsdale. "So, you two were helping a bad player…thanks…"

"Hey! She knows what she's talking about", Mudsdale stated with a glare. "Just because you're pissed that she called you out for being a pig doesn't mean that she's worse than you!"

"Oh, but what about what jockstrap said last time about chances and her being useful?"

"She's actually trying, while you're bitching about it…" Incineroar chimed in.

"What have _you_ done?!" Drampa exclaimed, glaring at him.

"I helped her out of the box, duh…"

Drampa groaned.

"Okay LOOK!" Passimian exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "We will deal with this when the challenge is over. We've wasted too much time in here. Let's just try another room…"

"Fine by me…" Togedemaru stated, hopping off of the table she was on. "This place is starting to smell bad anyway…"

"It's probably Drampa's breath…" Mudsdale stated as she started walking towards the door.

Drampa started to fake gag. "Didn't I say that I was allergic to fish? Learn to clean yourself…"

Mudsdale growled.

They all left the room, with Incineroar closing the door behind them.

 **000**

Dhelmise was on the first floor in Room 1. The room had numerous shelf racks strewn about, with boxes all around them, some partially opened and others not. There was a glowing large cubical figure in the middle of the room with a dome on the top of it covering a silver cylinder jar.

"What the hell is thi-"

As he floated closer, he unknowingly crossed a barrier around the figure. The object glowed brighter and silver tiles started covering the entirety of the room. Pretty soon, he was in a completely metallic room.

"What the fuck…?" he asked, looking around.

" _Hello-_ "

Dhelmise was startled and looked around for the source of the voice. The voice sounded cyber, so he was a bit confused as to what was going on.

" _Hello. Dhelmise…"_ the cyber voice stated.

Dhelmise looked at the glowing cube and saw a grey circle with a curved line above it. " _Hello. Dhelmise…."_ it repeated.

"What kind of science fiction nonsense is this?" Dhelmise queried, completely weirded out.

" _I am the obstacle for the item that you require: Metal Coat"_ , the voice replied. " _To receive this item. You must answer three questions…"_

"Oh joy...more trivia…"

He heard banging on the door, like someone was trying to get inside. He didn't need to, but he just wanted to heckle whoever it was.

"Sorry! Occupied!"

"Let us in, bastard!" he heard Incineroar roar.

"Nah, I'm pretty secure in here…" Dhelmise retorted. "Why don't you go and check out another room, instead?"

"It's fine. We'll just wait for you out here…" Mudsdale stated cockily.

"Whatever you want…" Dhelmise replied as the pounding on the door started again. He chuckled before turning back around. "Alright, now what three questions are we talking about?"

" _General knowledge…_ "

"Okay, I think I can handle that…" Dhelmise replied. "Lay them on me…."

" _Okay. First question. Name all of the Ultra Beasts…"_

"...That's not a question…" Dhelmise stated stoically. "But, fine. Uh...Celesteela, Kartana; Guzzlord; Nihilego, Xurkitree, Buzzwole, and Pheromosa."

" _That is...correct",_ the voice replied. _"Next question. The band 'Coldplay' consists of what four members?"_

Dhelmise twitched. He very rarely listened to music, so he didn't know anything about any bands.

"Uh...pass", he stated.

" _Okay. Third question. The fear of insects, the fear of darkness, and the fear of spirits are common weaknesses to what type of Pokemon?"_

"Psychic", Dhelmise answered immediately.

" _Correct_ ", the voice repeated. " _The band 'Coldplay' consists of what four members?"_

"What? I thought I said to pass that one!"

" _I have been assigned three questions depending on who enters this room"_ , the voice explained. " _The questions are done differently for each player_ …"

"So, what happens if I don't know a question's answer?!"

" _You receive painful stimulation…"_

"Welp, I guess it's time for me to go…" Dhelmise said immediately upon hearing that.

Before he could leave, the metal around the room glowed a bright white before forming a large ball above the cube. Dhelmise tried to escape by phasing through the floor and the wall, with both of them failing.

"Oh fuck me…"

 **-000-**

The Lunalas were actually waiting for Dhelmise to come out of the room so that they could steal whatever item he had gotten. A loud boom was heard and the door bucked a bit. A couple of seconds later, it toppled over, with a fainted Dhelmise lying against it.

The others peered into the room and saw the cube. _"Hello…_ "

They exchanged nervous looks.

 **000**

The Solgaleos were now in Room 3 on the second floor. The room had three televisions sitting on stands and numerous stools scattered about. There was an untouched, dusty bookcase with a bottle of liquor on top of it that looked new in comparison.

Bewear was sitting in a chair with large circular ring around it. The ring was at about neck level when sitting and there were spikes around the inside of it. There was a blue stone hanging from the ceiling above him. His arms were weighed down by strong, stretching bands. The bands were connected to the ring, which would shrink whenever they were stretched.

The others, upon seeing this contraption and watching what was supposed to happen on the television, were skeptical, but Bewear decided to do it anyway. The instructions were to grab the stone without getting 'punctured'. If someone did, someone else had to try until someone grabbed it.

"Uh...I'm not so sure about this…" Pyukumuku stated.

"This looks like some bullshit Jigsaw would pull…" Lycanroc commented as she wore the King's rock, walking around the trap Bewear was in.

"Well…" Hakamo-o started as she touched one of the spikes and saw that they were made of rubber. "At least it's fake. You ready Bewear?"

"Okay…" he replied.

"Alright big guy, go for it!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

Bewear looked up at the Water Stone above his head and waited a few seconds before reaching up and snagging it with ease; the ring barely moved. The others just stared in shock before Bewear turned to them. The chair and ring faded away, making Bewear fall flat on his butt.

"Welp...just like last time...that was anticlimactic…" said Hakamo-o, folding her arms.

Lycanroc opened the door and they started heading out. "I guess we should just have Bewear do everything physical and just be done in seconds…" she commented.

"Si, that would be mu-y…" she stopped as she flew out and noticed a large arthropod staring and waiting directly outside of the door.

"Uh...I think this is a problem…" Pyukumuku stated.

"Okay...maybe if we just back away and uh...check the first room that we missed...we'll be fine", said Hakamo-o as they started walking back.

They started heading to the first room, but the Golisopod followed them. Noticing this, Lycanroc thought about what she could do. She was strong, but also weak against it. She jumped up and used Rock Slide, knocking the Hard Scale Pokemon back. This gave them enough time to run and enter the first room.

 **-000-**

"Well, now we know what one of the Pokemon after the items is…" Hakamo-o said.

"Yep...a very very scary Golisopod…" Pyukumuku said, trembling a bit.

"Well, the beast hasn't gotten any of our items, so we're good for now…" Oricorio commented.

The door began getting banged against, presumably by the Golisopod. Bewear was standing in front of the door and being hit by the door.

"Okay, that just may change in a few seconds…" Lycanroc said, moving away from the door. Bewear swiftly opened the door and punched the Golisopod, which was waiting behind it. It fell onto the ground and Bewear closed the door.

"Okay…" he stated afterwards.

"Uh...I'm not sure if that really did anything, but let's see if we can get this next item…" said Hakamo-o as she turned back toward the room.

The room had a bed against the back wall next to a window. Both a Lapras and a Skitty plush sat on the bed. A calendar hung over the bed and there was a small dresser with a lamp next to it. Next to it was a table with a chair pushed under and a laptop on top. The rest of the right wall was taken up by shelves and cabinets. It was likely the cleanest room the entire place.

"Wow...nice room…" said Pyukumuku, actually acknowledging the new setting they were in.

"Yeah, it almost reminds me of my room…" Hakamo-o replied. "Now...the issue here is that...there's nothing standing out."

"What do you mean, chica?"

"In the other two rooms, there were things that were easily noticeable", Hakamo-o explained. "Here, there's nothing. It's just a normal room."

"You think there's nothing here?" asked Lycanroc as she went over and sat on the bed.

As soon as she sat down, the laptop on the table sprung open, revealing just a blue screen for a few seconds before words began appearing on it.

"Haunted computer!" Pyukumuku blustered.

"No, pequeñin, it's probably for the challenge…" Oricorio explained.

"And you are right in that regard, Oricorio…" Hakamo-o said as she sat down in the chair. Lycanroc, Oricorio, and Pyukumuku all gathered around, while Bewear acted as the bodyguard for the room. The door was hit harshly once more, so he turned around and opened the door. He promptly kicked the Golisopod in the goods, apparently hard enough for its hard scales to not offer protection, and closed the door as it slumped to the floor.

"Okay, so apparently there's a Dawn Stone somewhere in here", Hakamo-o said, looking at the computer.

"And the task to retrieve it is to...have a male and female lie in the bed together…" Lycanroc read. "Huh. Sounds easy enough. I'll do it…"

"And since Bewear is handling the Golisopod, Pyukumuku, you're gonna have to do it."

"Oh, uh...okay", Pyukumuku replied as Lycanroc lied on the bed. He hopped over and, using his innards-hand, got up onto the bed. "I've never been in bed with a girl before…"

"Well, it's a first time for everything…" Lycanroc giggled.

After a few seconds, they noticed that nothing was happening. It said a male and a female had to lay in the bed.

"Why isn't it working?" asked Oricorio.

"I dunno…" Lycanroc said. "I hope they don't mean have sex because I have no idea how that'd work and I'm not really interested...no offense."

"None taken!" Pyukumuku said cheerily.

"Well, maybe it has to be a certain one of us…" Oricorio said as Lycanroc got up and she took her place.

Again, nothing.

"Huh...this is strange…" said Oricorio.

"A male and a female in bed…" Hakamo-o repeated. "I mean, if it's not working, it's either talking about something else or…"

She turned to Pyukumuku with a shocked expression on her face. She went towards him a crouched so they were at eye level. "Pyukumuku...are you...a girl?"

"No", he replied.

"Well, that was easy…" said Oricorio.

"Uh...let's just test this out real quick…" Hakamo-o suggested. She believed that something with up with Pyukumuku since Lycanroc and Oricorio were both definitely female. "Bewear! Come get on the bed, I'll guard the door in the meantime…"

Pyukumuku hopped off of the bed; Bewear started walking to the bed and laid on his back once he was there. Again, nothing happened.

"What the hell?" Hakamo-o asked as she saw no effect once again. She sat back down at the computer to read the details. "A Dawn Stone is inside of this room. To retrieve it, have a male and a female lie in bed together very closely. Tip: Not a fork, but a…?"

"Well, the opposite of a un tenedor is usually un cuchara, if not un cuchillo…" Oricorio reasoned.

The others just stared at her, causing her to sigh. "Spoon…"

"Wait...what does a spoon have to do with lying in bed?" asked Pyukumuku. "And why isn't anyone blocking the door?!"

Hakamo-o remembered that she was supposed to take Bewear's place, but she went to the computer when it didn't work out. The door was kicked open and the Golisopod entered, using Blizzard.

The room immediately started to freeze, with snow covering the ground and walls and ceiling turning icy.

Bewear used Hyper Beam, blasting the Golisopod back out of the room before it could grab the Water Stone that was sitting on the table. Afterwards, he got out of the bed and walked toward the door to slam it shut.

The snow that came from the Blizzard was one-and-a-half feet high, so he went back over and saw a few pink tips jutting from the snow. He picked up Pyukumuku and placed him on the bed.

Hakamo-o, despite being weak to Ice, was still standing and was currently shivering in the bed. "Well this is j-just g-great…" she stated, shivering with a scowl.

Lycanroc shuddered from the cold as well, while Oricorio was unfazed due to being a Fire-type. "We need to get this stupid Dawn Stone before the bastard gets back here…" Lycanroc stated.

"W-well I'm s-staying in this bed…" Hakamo-o stated as she started getting under the covers, still shivering.

"Hey, sharing is caring…" Lycanroc said, getting under the covers as well, albeit on the opposite end of the bed. Bewear recalled what the tip was and immediately walked back to the bed, looking back at the door ever so often.

"Bewear, what are you doing?" Hakamo-o asked as Bewear got into the bed as well. He got behind her and pulled her close against him, making her gasp and blush. "BEWEAR!" she exclaimed uncomfortably.

The calendar over the bed rose up like a panel, revealing the Dawn Stone. Oricorio gasped. "Haka, it worked!"

"What?" Hakamo-o questioned before sitting up and looking on the wall behind her. There was a small compartment where the Dawn Stone was sitting. "Wait...ho-"

"Oh...I'm guessing they were talking about _that_ type of spoon…" Lycanroc giggled. "Lucky you, Haka…"

Hakamo-o growled with a blush.

 **000**

" **Never...again…" Hakamo-o growled.**

 **000**

"Get out of bed!" Passimian exclaimed as Togedemaru lied in bed. The Lunalas had procured the Metal Coat thanks to Gumshoos helping them out, much to Drampa's annoyance. They were currently in Room 2, still on the first floor. The room had three rather large beds with a nightstand between two of them. Togedemaru had gotten tired due to eating so much earlier and having to exert more energy than usual in the last challenge.

"Okay, I think we should split up about now…" Incineroar suggested. "We've got an item now, so whatever's going to try to steal from us is likely coming now. "

"Yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea", Mudsdale said, nodding in agreement. "With two groups, it'll be less likely that it'll have success…"

Passimian thought about it for a while. There were six of them, so it'd be pretty even defense. He sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stick with Drampa and Togedemaru. You guys go on and search somewhere else…"

Drampa glared at Gumshoos, but after turning to look at Togedemaru, he smirked to himself; it was a smirk that exemplified creepiness.

"Fine by us…" said Gumshoos. "The farther that creep is away from us, the better…"

Drampa blew a Razz Berry in response. The three of them exited the room, leaving the three of them alone. As soon as they were gone, Drampa rested his head on Passimian's shoulder. "So...how do-"

"If you try anything, I swear, I'm beating the absolute dogshit out of you…" Passimian interrupted.

"Will you let me fucking finish!?" Drampa exclaimed angrily. "Jeez, you keep threatening me before I can even finish what I'm trying to say!"

Passimian groaned. "Fine. What?"

"I was trying to ask how do we know if something's even in here?" Drampa asked. "There's nothing outstanding in here other than these beds and the sexy little tot sleeping in one of them."

"Yeah, you're right about that…" said Passimian, looking around. "Other than the part about Togedemaru being a sexy little tot. There _has_ to be something else here…"

"I doubt it…" Drampa said as he prepared to get in bed with Togedemaru. Passimian pulled him back and tossed him against the wall. He groaned. "Leave me alone!"

"You're not gonna mess with her while she's asleep!" Passimian exclaimed.

Drampa growled. "Fine. But she's not supposed to be asleep anyway..."

Passimian sighed. "True enough, but I doubt waking her will do any good…"

"If there's nothing here, let's just check somewhere else…" said Drampa. "Wait...do you still have the Metal Coat?"

Passimian removed his melon helmet, showing the Metal Coat, before placing it back on.

"Okay good...let's hope that whatever the hell is supposed to be after us goes for the other group…" Drampa stated, heading for the door. Once he opened it, his eyes widened as a slender lizard was standing in the doorway licking its lips. It was dark gray with a purple underside, and three pink markings. It also had five fingers and toes.

Drampa was frozen, completely mesmerized initially, but the look in its eyes and the curvaceousness of its body signalled to him that it wasn't young. So, immediately, he lost interest. Passimian, on the other hand, was drooling at the sight of the Salazzle.

She beckoned for him to come closer, and Passimian did so. She gave him a brief kiss on the lips, arousing him further as he picked her up. The Salazzle stroked his head before kissing him again, while a smile appeared on Drampa's face.

Passimian carried the Salazzle to the nearest bed and they proceeded to 'make it rock'. Drampa's tail swished erratically out of excitement.

 **000**

" **This...is a good time…" Drampa said, chuckling.**

 **000**

Dhelmise was searching the boxes in Room 3, the room that the Lunalas couldn't understand. He had started searching the boxes that were inside and eventually found a mirror with a key inside of it.

As soon as he saw that the Fire Stone needed a key, he instantly went to the boxes. He completely ignored the writing on the wall, as he figured that it would be common sense to check the boxes.

Checking, he found a mirror. He looked back toward the wall that the words on it. He floated over and placed it in front of the message. The 'Noitce Ifer' turned into 'Reflection' and it began glowing green.

A key was created from the glowing word and Dhelmise picked it up. He chuckled. "Easy…"

He picked up the key and used it on the case, retrieving the Fire Stone. Once he grabbed it, he decided to head to the next room, Room 4. Entering, he noticed boxes on the ground. Going over, he peeked inside each of them and saw an egg-shaped white stone inside of one of them. "Wow...this is WAY too easy…" he said.

As soon as he retrieved it, he turned back around to see a Golisopod behind him. "Oh fuck…"

The Golisopod used Shadow Claw, knocking Dhelmise into the wall. The Golisopod grabbed the Oval Stone.

"Ugh…" Dhelmise groaned as he floated up and saw that the Golisopod was gone. "Are you KIDDING me?!"

 **000**

" **Note to self", Dhelmise started. "Never get on a Golisopod's bad side…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise floated back out of the room as Gumshoos, Incineroar, and Mudsdale entered the room. He quickly made himself invisible in order to see what was going to happen.

Incineroar was tossing a Leaf Stone up and down. "That was easy enough. Didn't think smashing plants would work…"

"Guess your anger helped us out…" said Mudsdale.

"Okay, can we stop using the word help?!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "I've heard it enough, today…"

"Aw, don't let Drampa get you down", said Mudsdale. "If we lose. He's definitely getting eliminated next, no matter what…"

Gumshoos smiled. "Thanks."

"Uh…" Incineroar started, looking at the mantle. "Girls, looks like someone else figured out what we couldn't…"

The other two looked at the mantle and saw that the case was open and the Fire Stone was gone. Gumshoos growled.

"NO! I knew what to do! I don't know what the hell happened!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Well…" Incineroar started, looking at all of the overturned and scattered boxes. "My guess is that the key was in one of these boxes and that message meant jack shit…"

"Fuck…" Mudsdale growled. "Let's check upstairs and hope that the other team has been getting hit by whatever is stealing from them…"

The three of them exited the room, with Incineroar tossing the Leaf Stone yet again. As soon as the door closed, Dhelmise made himself visible. "Looks like they're about to be less one Leaf Stone…" he said as he made himself invisible and started following them.

 **000**

The Solgaleos were entering the other side of the building through the window. It didn't really make any sense initially, but seeing the Golisopod head up the stairs in their direction made it non-neogotiable.

They had to climb through the open window and maneuver across the balcony to get to the other window. Hakamo-o climbed in first, with Oricorio followed, heating up her feathers to evaporate the rain. Bewear, Pyukumuku, Lycanroc came in after, with Lycanroc shaking herself dry yet again, unintentionally getting the others more wet and dropping the King's Rock.

"Sorry…" she apologized as she got back on her feet and placed the crown back on her head.

"Well, that was a dumb thing to do…" Hakamo-o said, looking out of the window. "We should've just attacked the damn Golisopod instead…"

"How long have we been in here?" asked Pyukumuku.

"I have no idea…" Hakamo-o replied. "But I think five hours is way too long. There aren't that many rooms to really search…"

"How many evolutionary items are there anyway?" asked Lycanroc. "Maybe we missed some things…"

"Let's check this last room, first. before we worry about anything else, amigos", Oricorio said, looking at the last door across from them.

They all went toward the room, but as they did, Bewear noticed that the Golisopod was staring at them from Room 2. He fired another Hyper Beam at it, blasting it back into that room before joining the others into the last room.

 **-000-**

The room, labeled _GO's Room_ was about the same size as the others. There was a bed tilted diagonally, with a throne directly across the door. There was a bookshelf near the back with a few vases sitting on them. To the right of the throne was a treasure chest that looked rather empty.

As they entered, Hakamo-o noticed a white note on the bed. As she went to pick it up, however…

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?"

Turning to the doorway, they all saw Incineroar, Mudsdale, and Gumshoos.

"Oh great…" Lycanroc muttered. "Though I'll admit, I expected this…"

Incineroar went to the note and snatched it from Hakamo-o before looking at it and ripping it apart.

"What are you doing?!" Gumshoos exclaimed, confused by his actions.

"I looked at it already, I know what to do…" Incineroar replied as he went up to the throne and sat down in it. Immediately, he was strapped to it and he started getting electrocuted.

He shouted in pain as he sat in the electric chair. The chest next to it slowly creaked open, revealing numerous evolutionary items. These included a Dusk Stone, Upgrade, Dubious Disc, Protector, Magmarizer, and Electirizer.

"Grab them!" Lycanroc exclaimed, rushing to the chest. Gumshoos did as well, due to Mudsdale immediately charging at Bewear.

Lycanroc quickly grabbed all of the items, but dropped the Magmarizer, which Gumshoos promptly snagged. "Mudsdale!"

Mudsdale was busy kissing Bewear, much to the surprise of everyone besides Gumshoos. They hadn't really seen the two of them this way, so this was strange.

Incineroar growled and used his heel to hit the button against the bottom of the purple throne, releasing him. He got out and picked up Lycanroc with a smirk. "I guess I'll be taking these objects…" he said, taking the King's Rock from her and placing it on his head before grabbing the Electirizer. With her now empty hand, and knowing his 'situation', she grabbed his crotch area, causing him to freeze and immediately dropped her with a large blush appearing on his face in the aftermath.

Once she was free from his grasp, she happily took the King's Rock back, as well as the Electirizer, before kissing his cheek. "Nice try~"

The Solgaleos started rushing out of the room, while the Lunalas, mainly Gumshoos, tried to get a few of the items back from them. She ended up losing them, but she looked at the Magmarizer in her hands and sighed. She looked back at Incineroar, who was now twitching, much to her confusion, and Mudsdale, who was 'bumping' against Bewear.

She facepalmed.

 **000**

" **Oh yes...and** _ **I'm**_ **the useless one!" Gumshoos exclaimed, folding her arms.**

 **000**

Passimian woke up abruptly, still in Room 2. He was halfway under the covers, and, looking around, he saw that Togedemaru was awake, and Drampa was against the wall, supposedly unconscious. He sat up, rubbing his head. He recalled what happened earlier and gained a small smile.

"Uh...do you mind telling me what the hell is going on!?" Togedemaru exclaimed upon seeing Passimian's smile.

Drampa groaned and sat up, blinking rapidly. "I can tell you…" he said. "Your lazy ass fell asleep in the bed and we were about to leave you and go look for other objects, but a Salazzle was at the door. Passimian decided that it needed a good pounding, and proceeded to do so while I watched…" he started.

"Wait, you WHAT?!" Passimian exclaimed with a growl.

"You heard me, 'Great Cunt Crusader', as you call yourself..." Drampa said, causing Passimian to glare at him. "Anyways, you went three rounds with the slut lizard, and when she pretty much drained you, she lifted your helmet and took the Metal Coat. I tried to stop her, and I got hit with a fucking Dragon Pulse to the face…"

Togedemaru groaned. "Well, that explains why I saw a grey and black tail leave through the door when I got up…" she stated before turning to Passimian. "You SERIOUSLY fell for a freaking Salazzle?!"

Passimian didn't say anything initially. "It was worth it…" he said without regret.

"You may have just cost us the challenge, you idiot!"

"Bitch, you fell asleep! You don't get to complain!" Drampa retorted, taking up for Passimian.

"Fuck this…" Togedemaru said as she got off of the bed and started leaving the room.

Drampa and Passimian exchanged looks as she left before getting up and following her.

 **-000-**

The three of them left the room and immediately turned a corner, going down a hall and through a door there. Going out of the side, they saw both a claw-shaped, and fang-shaped object sitting around the other side of the gazebo-like area. "You two wait here, I'll get the Razor Claw and Razor Fang. We may actually have a chance..."

She went out there as the two guys waited at the door. She picked up both objects and immediately and a clanking sound was heard as a cage dropped on top of her.

"Oh for FUCK'S SAKE!" she exclaimed.

Passimian and Drampa both went outside to help her out. Passimian tried to break it, but it didn't work. Drampa attempted to use Flamethrower, but it didn't work either.

"What the hell is this?!" Drampa exclaimed. "Is this thing fireproof or something?"

Suddenly a slam was heard and the three turned around to see that the door they left from was shut.

"Oh fuck!" Passimian exclaimed as he rushed back to the door. He attempted to open the door, but it was locked. He started ramming into the door, hitting it with his shoulder. It still didn't work.

"Don't tell me we're locked out here!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"Okay, I won't…" he said, coming back over before turning to Drampa. "We're locked out here…"

Togedemaru groaned. "Well, go around front!"

Drampa and Passimian decided to go around to the front door.

 **-000-**

The lemur and dragon crossed through the hedges and made it to the front door. Passimian tried opening the door but he realized that the chandelier that Bewear threw was making the door hard to open.

"Damn it!" Passimian cursed. Drampa looked up at the balcony and roof, seeing open windows.

"Hey! The windows are open up there!" Drampa stated, looking up.

Passimian took a few steps back to see for himself. To his relief, Drampa was right. "Okay. Fly me up there and get back to Togedemaru. I'll make it down and unlock the door for you…"

Drampa nodded as Passimian climbed onto his back. Drampa unknowingly moaned to himself, causing Passimian some unease.

"Uh...Drampa?"

Drampa regained focus and flew upwards. Passimian jumped off of his back and onto the balcony before going into the right window.

Drampa did as Passimian instructed and headed back to Togedemaru.

 **-000-**

Passimian popped his back before shaking his fur dry. "Stupid house…" he stated as he headed to the stairs. As he did, the door across from the window opened and a few members of his team started leaving.

"Guys?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Well…" Gumshoos started as Mudsdale and Incineroar followed. "Mudsdale got distracted with Bewear and Lycanroc cupped Incineroar's junk, making him freeze from the sexual contact…"

Passimian groaned, facepalming.

"Yeah…" Gumshoos explained. "We got a Magmarizer and a Leaf Stone, though. The Solgaleos took everything else…"

Suddenly, Dhelmise rose from the floor, taking the Leaf Stone before phasing back through the floor.

"Oh come on!" Passimian exclaimed.

"CONTESTANTS! TIME IS UP!" Solgaleo roared. "RETURN TO THE FIRST FLOOR!"

"FUUUUCK!"

 **000**

All of the contestants returned to the first floor, with the exception of Togedemaru and Drampa, who Passimian had to let back in.

"Alright, now that we're all technically back…let's count up what we've got…" said Solgaleo.

Passimian, Togedemaru, and Drampa started coming back from the hall. This time, Drampa's tail brushed against a plant, causing flour to be dumped on the three of them. The Salazzle came from a rotating wall, snatching the Razor Claw from Drampa while he was coughing and dusting the powder away, before rotating back.

The others watched in surprise.

"HOW WAS THAT REMOTELY FAIR!?" Incineroar exclaimed.

"I call BS…" Mudsdale stated.

"Hey, they don't call this the Shady House for nothing…" Solgaleo explained. "Plus, I warned you about traps. So, like I said before. Let's count up how much we've got…"

Lycanroc proudly placed their haul onto the floor in front of Solgaleo. Gumshoos placed the Magamrizer in front of him as Togedemaru came forward and placed the Razor Fang down.

Solgaleo looked at the difference in size and chuckled. "Well, this...was pathetic. The Solgaleos win!"

The Solgaleos cheered and the Lunalas all groaned.

"Alright, now let's head back to Akala Island so we can see who's getting the boot…" said Solgaleo as he used teleport.

 **000**

" **Ah...and so it begins…" Togedemaru stated. She held up a a slip of paper, a Prism Scale, and a Metal Coat. "It was tough hiding these things, but it was worth it."**

" **When all of those idiots went to help Gumshoos, I went to the fire place and snagged the paper that was there", Togedemaru stated. "I still can't believe that those morons didn't understand it."**

" **Then, when we went into Room 2, I saw the Prism Scale on the bed, so I just hurried up and jumped onto it…"**

" **I woke up after Drampa's perverted ass hit the wall and I saw the Salazzle with the Metal Coat. I used Zing Zap and took the the Metal Coat back before using Thunder and dragging her out of the room. The bitch was heavy, but I got it done before the bastard woke up", Togedemaru explained. "Easy as pie…"**

 **000**

After showering to get the flour off, Passimian, Drampa, and Togedemaru went up to the seventh floor with the rest of her team.

"Alright guys…" Passimian started. "Today; today was rough."

"VERY rough…" Incineroar added. "We only got two fucking items after all of that!"

"Well, I think it's obvious that-"

"If you say my fucking name, I will hit you with a Dragon Pulse so fucking quick…" Drampa stated.

"Hey, today we ALL screwed up, so it means that you can be eliminated without issue…" Mudsdale stated.

"Uh huh…" Drampa started. "How was your banging session with the player on the opposite team?"

"Fine. How was watching Passimian fuck and getting blasted by a Salazzle?" Mudsdale countered.

"I got blasted because I was trying to get the fucking Metal Coat BACK…" Drampa replied. "I feel like I was one of the only ones who didn't really screw up today!"

"Oh please…" Gumshoos said, rolling her eyes.

"Bitch, Togedemaru fell asleep during the challenge; Passimian fucked a Salazzle, passed out, and got the Metal Coat stolen, YOU got trapped in a box and lied about knowing anything about the message in Room 3; also, according to you, Mudsdale fucked Bewear instead of knocking back the Solgaleos to take the items that were there and Incineroar got his junk cupped and was apparently immobilized!" Drampa exclaimed.

They all exchanged glances.

"Meanwhile, what did I do that fucked us over in some way?" Drampa asked rhetorically. "Oh right, NOTHING!"

Passimian sighed.

"No", Togedemaru stated. "I'm tired of that sigh already. He may be 'helpful', but as a person, he's a piece of shit."

"WHAT I DO IS MY OWN BUSINESS!" Drampa exclaimed.

"Guys, we can't vote him out if he has a fair point", said Passimian. "He's been the most helpful on the team and I know that we're all fucking sick and tired of his antics. But…" he turned to Drampa.

"Drampa...you'd better not do ANYTHING perverted to US ever again. This is going to be your final chance…" Passimian said. "You're getting amnesty today...can we all agree on that?"

They all exchanged glances.

Incineroar took a deep breath. "Fine. But come in my room again, and I will end you…"

"I... _guess_ I can let it go…" Togedemaru said through grit teeth.

"You guys cannot be serious!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "This prick could be arrested for sexual assault outside of this game and you're letting him stay?!"

"Shut up…" Drampa growled. "I get my ass handed to me every time I do something."

Gumshoos growled.

"LUNALAS! COME ON DOWN!"

 **000**

The Lunalas all came down, with Solgaleo looking a bit better than he usually did around the time.

"Alright, you guys should know the drill now…" Solgaleo suggested. "Get in the confessionals and cast your votes…"

 **000**

" **Drampa…" Gumshoos stated.**

 **000**

" **Drampa", Mudsdale stated. "Fuck him…"**

 **000**

" **Gumshoos…" Drampa said. "That bitch needs to go."**

 **000**

" **Gumshoos is smart, but she's not being useful. Sorry…" Passimian stated.**

 **000**

" **Gumshoos is a threat with her intelligence...and I don't like threats..." Incineroar stated.**

 **000**

" **I'd vote Drampa…" Togedemaru started. "But, if he keeps distracting the others on this team and the other team, it can work in my favor. So, Gumshoos the smartass goes…"**

 **000**

Solgaleo came out of the hotel, where the others were waiting. "Alright...it seems like the one going home is…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...Gumshoos!"

Gumshoos sighed. "You guys just made a huge mistake…"

"Getting rid of a useless bitch isn't a mistake at all…" said Drampa. "So...you get out of here!"

Gumshoos growled.

 **000**

Gumshoos went to the terminal, where the boat was waiting.

"Alright Gumshoos, you were a decent contestant. Sadly, you didn't really do anything useful…" Solgaleo stated.

"I helped out today! I got them the Metal Coat, but ugh...they just kept Drampa…" Gumshoos replied.

"Yeah, these competitions aren't fair, but you gotta deal with it…" Solgaleo said as Gumshoos got on the boat. "So long…"

The driver, the same Simisage, drove off.

Solgaleo turned to the front. "And that's the end of that", he stated. "Gumshoos is gone and Drampa is still in somehow. What will the Lunalas do? Will the Solgaleos keep this streak? FInd out next time on Total Pokemon: Alola!" he said before teleporting away.

 **000**

 **And there goes Gumshoos. Geez, Drampa is on his legs. Togedemaru actually did something? Wow...I wonder what she's planning. Mudsdale is definitely getting too much Bewear time. And without Gumshoos being there to regulate, things are going to get a bit...overdone. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total Pokemon: Alola. See you guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Review, I guess…" Gumshoos stated.**

 **000**

 **A Gumshoos was seen adjusting a camera before moving to the center of the room she was in. The room had black walls with a wooden floor. There was a window on the back wall with a desk in front of it. A rolling chair was situated at that desk.**

 **Next to the desk was a large cabinet with a large television on it. A small bed was next to her.**

" **Hello. My name is Gumshoos and I'm auditioning for Total Pokemon: Alola. I have 4.8 GPA and I am SADLY just number 2 in my class…" she explained. "I am auditioning because I require money for law school since these damn schools don't want to give me full tuition."**

" **I hope that if I am accepted, I am placed on a good team and the challenges allow me to show my intelligence…"**

" **Thank you for your time…"**

 **000**


	5. Episode 5: Yes, We Canyon!

**Back to your regularly scheduled programming...**

 **000**

When Gumshoos was eliminated, Mudsdale began getting more and more obsessed with fornicating with Bewear. As soon as she got eliminated, Mudsdale went back up to his room and waited for him to come in.

Then, she jumped him and they had five more rounds. Saturday and Sunday weren't any better, as she wouldn't let him leave his own room for anything. The only time he'd have any freedom was when he wore her out, which took a _very_ long time due to her ability.

Bewear was exhausted, but he didn't really mind. It was still Sunday, and the time was approaching 9 PM. Mudsdale was lying in _his_ bed, asleep, while he just stared at the ceiling. He heard her soft breathing and felt that he was in the clear to leave. He wanted to go work out. He could feel his muscles weakening with every round he had with Mudsdale. He also wanted to shower, as he couldn't even go to the bathroom without her following him inside. Using it was fine, but he couldn't shower due to her not really liking water.

He knew that he'd probably wake her if he went to his own shower, so he quickly, but slowly, opened his door, and snuck out.

 **000**

" **Mudsdale is pretty and our game is fun, but I'm getting tired…" Bewear said, rubbing his head. "Maybe she can play by herself for a while…"**

 **000**

Bewear knocked on Pyukumuku's door. After a few minutes with no response, he knocked again. Getting no response once more, he looked down in exasperation, not uttering any sound.

He realized that if Pyukumuku wasn't in his room, there was only one other place he could be: the seventh floor.

He would have gone to another guys' room, but Pyukumuku was the only guy that he really trusted. The others were fine, but he just couldn't deal with them. He attempted to open Pyukumuku's door, and much to his surprise, it was unlocked.

He went inside and, unsurprisingly, the room was clean. There wasn't much that a Sea Cucumber could do to a room that's much bigger than himself. He went into the bathroom and immediately turned on the hot water so that he could bathe Mudsdale's essence off of himself.

 **000**

Passimian had his head in the palms of his hands as he sat in the bean bag chair. After having sex with the Salazzle in the last challenge, he just felt awful. Sure, he had sex with girls before, but this time, it wasn't right. The situation that happened beforehand with Hakamo-o and the girls attempting to hook them up was the cause of this.

Yes, he found Hakamo-o attractive. Yes, he knew that she stated that she wasn't interesting in a relationship in the game. However, there could have a been a chance to change her mind about it. Sure, he said that he agreed with her, but seeing how Bewear and Mudsdale had been acting was irking him.

They had a full-on intimate relationship going on, and they were both still doing fairly well in challenges. Well, Bewear was anyway. Granted, it was just the last challenge when that circumstance occurred, but it kinda proved that relationships didn't hinder challenge performance. In Mudsdale's case, yes, she screwed up in the last neck of the competition, but before, she was still doing perfectly fine.

"Fuck my life…" Passimian said with a sigh as he finally lied back in the bean bag chair.

Incineroar, who was trying and failing to get better at Halo, saw his condition and groaned. He noticed that he'd been sulking around and avoiding interaction with Lycanroc, Oricorio, and Hakamo-o as if they had the plague. He knew about the Salazzle he banged in the last challenge, but was confused as to why Passimian was acting like it was the worst thing he'd ever done.

"Dude, you've been moping and acting like a sad sack ever since Gumshoos was eliminated", Incineroar said, pausing his game. "Why the hell are you being like this if you scored with a sexy ass girl? And this is coming from a g-"

He looked over and saw that Pyukumuku was watching and listening from the weight stand. He had to watch himself.

"A...another horny guy…" Incineroar finished, chortling nervously.

"Well…" Passimian started with a sigh. "You know Hakamo-o, right?"

"The bitch that's too serious about everything, yes…" Incineroar replied, causing Passimian to throw him a disapproving look. "What? You know I'm telling the truth…"

Passimian rolled his eyes. "Well, Lycanroc and Oricorio tried to hook us up, and-"

"Oh yeah…" Incineroar chirped, recalling the wolf's and bird's plan to get the two of them to talk. "When they told me the plan, I laughed. So, how'd it go?"

"Well...we both agreed that a relationship would cause issues in the competition…" Passimian explained.

"Uh huh...?"

"And well, y'see, uh...I still wanted to try and get with her…" Passimian explained, causing Incineroar's eyes to widen.

"W-What?" the Heel Pokemon asked, completely taken aback by Passimian's claim. "But didn't you just say-"

"Yes, we agreed, but that doesn't mean I couldn't try…"

"Uh, actually it does…" Incineroar countered. "Have you even talked to her outside of that little interaction?"

"Well, no, but-"

"And you fucked a Salazzle in the last challenge while these thoughts were still going through your head?!" Incineroar blustered

"Hey, don't blame me, those things are sexy and their pheromones take control over you…" Passimian retorted.

Incineroar stood up with a groan, holding his head. "Y'see, this is why I'm gay and I've only been with my fiance for my entire life. I don't like dealing with bullshit issues like _this_! And I still happen to enjoy the feeling of…y'know…" he said, clearing his throat.

Passimian raised a brow before looking toward Pyukumuku, who was still watching and listening. Incineroar facepalmed. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?" he roared before turning to the Sea Cucumber. "TELL ANYONE AND YOU DIE!"

Pyukumuku just blinked in response.

 **000**

" **Wow...I know a gay guy...AWESOME!" Pyukumuku exclaimed cheerily.**

 **000**

Incineroar plopped back down in the chair he was in. "You're fucked. Any chance of you two getting together is completely out of the window now…"

"Why do you think I've been so fucking upset!?" Passimian exclaimed before taking off his helmet and rubbing his furry head. "I've screwed up bad…"

"Well, I've got nothing more to say…" Incineroar replied. "It was dumb move…"

"Pheromones…"

"Right…" Incineroar said, rolling his eyes as he started playing the game again.

Passimian could tell that Incineroar was irked at him now, but he still needed his advice. With as long a relationship as he claimed to have, apparently being with his fiance for most of his life, surely they had a few bumps and made a few mistakes. He knew that he and Hakamo-o weren't dating, but he still felt like he needed to talk to her.

"Well...what do I say to her?" asked Passimian.

Incineroar paused his game again and turned to him. "How adamant was she about the relationship thing?"

"Uh...I don't know how to rate adamancy...but she was pretty dead set on it…"

"Then there's no point in saying anything…" Incineroar replied. "I'll be honest, when I set my mind to something, I rarely change my mind. My man knows that. And even though he hates it, he let's it go…"

"So...you want me to just let it be?"

"Yes", Incineroar replied. "If she's not willing to change her mind, which is even more evident by her attitude in this competition, there's no point in telling her what happened because she won't care. You'd just be spilling your tea for no reason…"

Passimian looked down.

"Trust me. If she doesn't care about a relationship, you shouldn't care about banging a Salazzle…" Incineroar replied as he started playing Halo once again.

After a few seconds, Passimian rose up. "I'm gonna go talk to her…"

Incineroar paused his game YET AGAIN and facepalmed. "What did we _just_ talk about?"

"I know that it won't matter to her, but I just need to get this off of my chest", Passimian explained. "Guilt emerges in me even when there's nothing to be guilty about. It's a part of me that I fucking hate…"

Incineroar sighed. "Good luck, I guess…" he replied before resuming his game for the fourth time.

Passimian hurried over to the elevators, wanting to just get this over with, leaving Pyukumuku and Incineroar alone.

"So, what's it like being gay?" Pyukumuku queried, making Incineroar pass him a death glare.

 **000**

Hakamo-o, Lycanroc, and Oricorio were watching a movie in Oricorio's room. The bird's room was still rather clean, with the only thing unkempt being her bed. Lycanroc was lying on the floor, while Hakamo-o lied on the couch and Oricorio sat in her bed, in her Pa'u Style. They were watching, 'Gigantic', and Oricorio felt herself starting to tear up us the Gardevoir on the raft uttered 'I'll never let go…' to a Gallade in the water. It seemed like her Pa'u Style was more emotional and relaxed.

"This movie is so dumb…" Hakamo-o commented. "I mean, seriously. There's more than enough space for that skinny dude to get in with her, but he just dies anyway?"

"Hey, it's for entertainment purposes…" said Lycanroc replied. "It's not always going to be sensical. Take horror movies for instance, everyone's a fucking idiot."

"Yeah, and?"

"That's because if they acted like normal, intelligent, people in that situation, the movie wouldn't be a movie. It'd be a four minute clip…" Lycanroc replied.

Hakamo-o huffed. "I guess you're right…"

Suddenly, there was a knock at Oricorio's door. The three girls exchanged looks; they weren't expecting any company, nor did they know who'd want to visit them.

Hakamo-o decided to open the door, being the most physically capable of the three in the room. She opened the door and saw that it was Passimian; this rose a few questions for her.

"Uh...what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I uh...I actually wanted to talk to you about something…" he explained vaguely.

"About what?" she responded as Lycanroc and Oricorio peeked around the corner to see what was going on.

"Can you just come out here so we can talk?" he urged, not wanting to take long.

Hakamo-o looked behind herself, causing Lycanroc and Oricorio to quickly turn their attention back to the television. Hakamo-o smacked her lips and rolled her eyes. "Fine", she said as she stepped outside and left the door slightly cracked behind her.

The two of them went a bit away from that door and headed to her room. Hakamo-o just wanted to be sure that whatever they talked about remained between them. When they entered her room, she immediately locked the door and stood against it with her arms folded. "Okay. Talk…"

Seeing her in the position and seeing that no-nonsense look in her eyes caused him to blush a bit, but he needed to be serious.

"Well...I'm sure you recall when Lycanroc and Oricorio tried to hook us up…" Passimian said, jogging her memory a bit.

She already recalled what he was talking about, so she didn't respond initially. "Yeah, so?"

"And you know how we both kinda agreed about the no relationship thing?" he asked.

Before he could even finish, Hakamo-o unlocked the door and opened it. "Get out…"

"What?" Passimian asked in confusion.

"You heard me. Get out", she repeated.

"Why?!" Passimian exclaimed, bewildered by her sudden hostility. "You didn't even let me say what I needed to!"

"You don't need to…" Hakamo-o responded. "Now get out, or do I have to throw you out?"

Passimian gave her a glare. "No need", he said as he headed out. He still wanted to say what he needed to, and he was going to say it anyway. He stopped at the doorway.

"You know...I still found you attractive" he admitted in a solemn tone. "And I was thinking about trying to become friends to maybe see if it'd go somewhere down the line. But it went wrong and I ended up with a Salazzle in the last challenge. I felt guilty because I still liked you and I still wanted to see if anything would work out, but hey, you kicked me out before I could fully explain, so I guess you've made your final decision…" he said before finally leaving.

Hakamo-o slammed the door and locked it before heading to her couch. She sat down in silence, holding her head for a few seconds, before using her hands to wipe either side of her face before meeting in a praying-like position.

She couldn't believe what she just heard. He still liked her...even after agreeing that a relationship would cause problems. And not only that...he ended up getting together with the Salazzle from the previous challenge!? So many emotions were going through her mind. She was upset. Angry. Betrayed. Tired.

"That fucking bastard…" she muttered to herself, her voice starting to break a bit. She wasn't about to cry over Passimian. She was about to cry because of all of the emotions suddenly coming over her. Prior to this, she hadn't ever had to deal with this many feelings. She didn't even know WHY she was feeling like this.

Yes, she found him attractive, but she wasn't interested in acting upon it. She still believed that relationships in these shows caused problems, and currently, even though they weren't dating, this was one of the problems she was talking about. She barely knew the guy and she was flooded with emotions because of him.

She laid in her bed, her face buried in her pillow as she roared in aggravation. She lifted her face up slightly, only letting her eyes into view. " _I've gotta get him outta here...I can NOT deal with this bullshit…_ "

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o was wiping away tears. "I've hardly ever cried and I never want to do it again", she growled. "That fucking bastard is trying to get into my head…"**

" **That physique and that demeanor are gonna cost me the fucking game. So, in order to keep myself stable...I'm gonna have to convince his teammates…" Hakamo-o reasoned. "I know it's wrong, but I am NOT going to be emotional again."**

 **000**

Togedemaru was in her usual hangout spot, the buffet area. She felt like she needed to reward herself, yet again, for finally making progress in her plan. Not only did she sabotage her team, but she also played a part in getting rid of a threat!

After Gumshoos' elimination, she'd spent most of Saturday and today, Sunday, in the buffet area just eating away without a break. Her plan was far from over, though. She was already planning the termination of another teammate. One threat was gone, but now it was time for the other one.

Incineroar wasn't much of a threat to her; she just viewed him as an overcompensating loser. Mudsdale was obsessed with Bewear lately, so she'd be out soon anyway, and Drampa was Drampa, so he was going to get his ass kicked numerous times and get eliminated due to injury sooner or later. Passimian was the one.

He was acting as a leader and effectively saving Drampa's ass every elimination. All she had to do was convince the others that he just wants Drampa to keep fooling around with all of them for his own amusement, or make another good enough case. There were only five of them left on the team, however, so it was going to be tough.

"Incineroar probably won't vote for him, but if I can convince Mudsdale...that could be an extra vote in my favor…" she said to herself. "Then if I get Drampa on board somehow...it'll be over…"

"Get me onboard with what?"

Togedemaru shrieked out of fear, as the Placid Pokemon seemed to have materialized out of nowhere! She growled and glared at him.

"Well, uh...usually I hear shrieks like that when girls or guys are _under_ me, but uh...that works, too", Drampa replied in response to the shriek and angry glare. "So, I ask again: Get me onboard with what?"

Togedemaru let out a breath. She didn't want to have any help in her plans, but, she wasn't going to be in an alliance with him or anything, so what harm could be done?

"Well, if you must know, I want you to help me eliminate Passimian…" Togedemaru explained. "That bastard is gonna end up screwing the team over with his bullshit decisions…"

"Eh, I guess I can agree. I mean, the idiot really thinks that I'm gonna stop my voyeurism here?" Drampa asked. "Please. With the sweet asses on those bitches on the other team and the beefcake from Incineroar, mmph! It's only just beginning."

"I'm glad that I'm not in that description…" was the only thing Togedemaru could muster up.

"Oh, don't worry, anyone not on that list has a list all of their own…"

"Okay, I don't wanna know anything else dealing with that", Togedemaru stated solemnly. "Are you gonna help me or not?" she asked.

"Hmm...I suppose…" Drampa started. "But, what's in it for me?"

Togedemaru sighed. She had a feeling that he was going to want something in return, as if his guaranteed safety (for now) wasn't enough. "What do you want? It'd better not be sexual, either…"

"What's sexual for you is different for what's sexual for me, so I believe we have an understanding~" Drampa said with a smile.

"Just tell me what you want, you jackass."

"Well, I wish to shower with you…"

Togedemaru froze. Did this pervy sonuvabitch just ask her to shower with him? Maybe she could focus on Passimian at a later time.

"You mean...you want us to-"

"Heavens NO!" Drampa exclaimed. "You're far too small for me to take in _that_ manner. I only wish to be in the same...moist...steamy...confined...environment as you. No physical contact needs to be made…"

Togedemaru weighed her options. She could refuse and risk him blabbing to the rest of the team, or get it over with, feel violated, and get an extra vote. Suddenly, a thought arose in her head.

"Wait...how do I know that you're not just gonna take it all back and not help me if I agree to this?"

Drampa chortled. "You _don't_ know. I guess you'll just have to trust me…"

Togedemaru just gave him a look of disgust before staring back down at her plate.

 **000**

Shower water was heard shutting off in a steam enveloped room. A shadow walked toward the window. Wiping away the fog, Bewear revealed his wet, furry form. He scratched his head before swiping his fur down, making it appear as it usually did. Smooth.

He had a towel around his neck and another around his waist and he decided to go back to his own room, as he knew Pyukumuku wouldn't appreciate him leaving used towels on the floor or counter.

He looked at Pyukumuku's clock and saw that it was 9:33. He yawned before heading out the door, only to see Mudsdale standing there with a peeved expression. He sweatdropped.

"Who told you...that you could leave the bedroom?" Mudsdale questioned, keeping her same glare.

Bewear just blinked in response as Mudsdale charged her way into Pyukumuku's room. Bewear ended up clinging to her by her mud locks.

"Muddy!" Bewear blustered, something he hardly never did, causing Mudsdale to stop in her tracks. He let go of Mudsdale, causing him to land on his back. He attempted to get up, but Mudsdale pinned him back down with her muzzle, giving him a sultry look and lick on the stomach.

Bewear would have easily got back up, but his weakened muscles from the numerous rounds and his male hormones weren't allowing this to happen. He didn't want this to happen in his friend's room, so he lightly tapped Mudsdale before she got too 'into' the part that was coming up.

"Muddy. My room. Not Pyukumuku's…" he stated.

Mudsdale smiled and kissed his nose as she let him up and grabbed him by his ear using her teeth.

"Ow…" he said plainly as he made sure to keep his towels with him.

 **000**

 **Bewear just sighed.**

 **000**

Dhelmise was in the lobby, alone. He needed to get some information and fast. Why fast? Because he was anxious. He had already possibly screwed with Hakamo-o's head, though it wasn't quite in the last challenge. There wasn't much else he could do.

He was getting extremely suspicious about Incineroar's behavior and mannerisms as of late. There was just something about him that made it seem like he was hiding something. The way he walked; the way he stood; his random fits of anger; hell, he even recalled seeing the tiger slurp and eat an entire popsicle in one bite just yesterday.

He needed to observe him more, as he had an idea of what was going on.

"Well. Looks like I'm gonna be watching what he does in his room…" Dhelmise said to himself. "Hopefully he doesn't sense anything or kills me…"

 **000**

" **I'll just go to his room, turn invisible, and sit on his couch until he comes back…" Dhelmise stated. "I don't want to pull a Drampa, but I need more info on these dolts and these challenges aren't helping me out in the slightest!"**

 **000**

"So...she just kicked you out?" Incineroar asked as Passimian came back with an aggravated expression.

"Yes. I didn't even really get to explain, so I had to do it as I was leaving…"

"Well, you should've expected that…" Incineroar replied. "With a girl like her...eh…"

"Gee, thanks…" Passimian said, rolling his eyes. "Well, it's done now. Nothing I can really do about it…"

Incineroar shrugged before standing up and stretching. "Well, I think I'm gonna go chill in my room for the rest of the night. This game has thoroughly pissed me the fuck off…"

"I bet…"

"Fuck you, man…" Incineroar said as he started heading back to the elevators.

"Nah, I'm straight…" Passimian replied jokingly.

"Not funny!"

Passimian chuckled before picking up the controller. Pyukumuku hopped off of the weight stand and shuffled toward him. "Wanna play GTA again?"

"Uh...sure…" Passimian said, unsure if he wanted to let the little guy play again. "Actually, on second thought, shouldn't you be getting ready for bed? It's almost 10…"

"Oh...okay", Pyukumuku said, hopping toward the elevator, as Passimian sighed to himself.

 **000**

Dhelmise was sitting in Incineroar's room, invisible, watching television. He heard the knob turning and immediately turned the television off.

Incineroar entered his room and saw it enveloped in darkness, just as he enjoyed it. Back home with his fiance, a lot of naughty things happened in the dark. He couldn't see, but his fiance could sense his location and what happened was completely amazing. Not knowing what was coming really aroused him.

Despite this, he wasn't at home, so as usual, he used the hall light to get to his bed and closed the door, leaving the room in mostly darkness, the lights from the from illuminating the window and drapes. Dhelmise watched him as he lied in his bed. He felt uncomfortable watching another grown male sleep, but it was necessary. Maybe he talked in his sleep or he'd mumble something.

It probably wasn't likely, but it was worth a shot. Hours passed, with Incineroar providing nothing of use. When the time struck 1:32 AM and nothing of use came up, he was done. He just wasted his time acting like a creepy pervert. He started phasing through the ground when he heard the bed creak.

He floated back up and saw the tiger start tossing and turning abruptly. A small smile appeared on his face and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Dhelmise fully rose back up, watching as the tiger raised his bottom half and purred. He started groaning and licking his lips, making Dhelmise even more uncomfortable as he floated back a bit.

"H-Harder…" Incineroar groaned in his sleep before his eyes clenched and his bit down on his pillow. "D-Deep...er…" he muffled as Dhelmise saw him grab either side of his mattress, while still biting his pillow.

Dhelmise immediately phased out of the room, a bit disturbed and uncomfortable.

 **000**

" **Well…" Dhelmise started. "Looks like he's gay. Interesting...to say the least. And apparently he's** _ **extremely**_ **horny for his partner…"**

" **I'm not sure what I can do with this, but hey. At least it's something…" Dhelmise commented.**

 **000**

Nine hours passed

 **000**

Lycanroc woke up on the floor of her room, her head board now had chunks out of it and her walls had scratch marks around them. She sighed as she raked her rocky mane back. "Another day, another part of my room fucked up…" she said to herself softly.

She got to her feet and popped her back before sniffing under her arms and near her privates. "Yep...definitely need to shower…"

She headed to her bathroom, the situation with Hakamo-o and Passimian coming back in her mind. Hakamo-o went out with him and neither she nor Oricorio heard from her since. She didn't know if they hooked up or if something bad happened.

She and Oricorio had stayed up until 11:45 watching movies, thinking that Hakamo-o would come back soon. When she didn't they didn't necessarily get worried, but they were curious as to what was going on. She thought about checking on her, but the call of her bed was overpowering and she came straight to her room to sleep.

As soon as she was got out of the shower, she was gonna go see how she was doing. She turned the hot water on and stepped inside of the shower. She grabbed the soap that was already provided inside of the shower and started lathering herself with it.

"Okay...get this musty scent off of myself and my cookie, go check on Haka, eat some breakfast, and see if today's when we have a challenge…" Lycanroc said to herself as she washed her chest and thighs. She leaned her head forward, wetting her mane majorly before whipping it back with a smile. "Hmm...maybe I can bother Incineroar a bit more, too~"

She turned off the water, grabbing a towel from the rod above the toilet. She stepped out and started drying herself off. When she was done, she exited and headed to Hakamo-o's room. She wasn't sure if she was awake or not, so she started knocking.

"Haka! You awake?" she called.

She got no response; she didn't know if this meant that she was inside or not. She knocked a few more times and still got no response.

"Haka?"

She twisted the knob and saw that her door was locked. This was strange, but understandable considering Drampa's behavior. She decided to leave it be for now and hopefully catch her later. Lycanroc's stomach growled and she headed to the elevators to go down to the buffet area for some breakfast.

 **000**

Togedemaru had a pale, disturbed look on her face as she twiddled with her fork. She had decided to through with Drampa's request, and she'd never felt more violated in her entire life. The strangest thing? NOTHING HAPPENED. She had gotten into the shower first and stayed near the back, then Drampa came in and started showering. No part of him touched her. He didn't even say anything. He just showered and left.

She didn't know he did that, but she was sure that she never wanted it to happen again. She shuddered to herself just thinking about it.

"Hey!"

She jumped at the sudden outburst and turned to see Incineroar looking at her. "You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Togedemaru nearly gagged, remembering _all_ of the white parts of Drampa that she was exposed to. She groaned. "Something like that…"

"Well, you'd better try and get over it. It's Monday, which means we likely have a challenge…" he explained. "We don't need you all bugged out…"

Togedemaru gave him a look. "I'm gonna be fine. Thank you…"

"Whatever you say…" Incineroar said, backing off as he went to the center island to grab a bit of food before heading back up to his room.

Lycanroc burst through the doors with a smile, startling Incineroar, while Togedemaru rolled her eyes. "Hey big daddy~" she greeted with sultry eyes.

Incineroar sighed. "What'd I say about calling me that?"

"You know there's no harm in it, cutie…" Lycanroc said, bumping hips with him, causing him to crack a small smile and roll his eyes.

Incineroar huffed. "You gonna be prepared for the challenge today?"

Lycanroc raised a brow. "How do you know that there's a challenge today?"

Incineroar gave her a look, dropping the ladle he had in his hand. "Seriously? You haven't noticed that every Monday and Friday we've had a challenge?"

"Huh...I guess... _knot_ ~" Lycanroc teased, cupping him yet again, causing Incineroar to blush with a soft growl. He had made the mistake of revealing that his fiance was a Lucario on Saturday. She had been messing with him for most of Saturday and Sunday when they were alone.

Lycanroc removed her paw with a giggle, making Togedemaru groan annoyedly. "No softcore porn please, you'll contaminate the food…"

"Sorry…" Lycanroc said sheepishly as she grabbed her own plate and started placing food on it. Incineroar finished putting syrup in his plata and started heading back out.

"Hey! Incineroar!"

"Yeah?"

"If you see Hakamo-o, could you tell her that I'm looking for her?" asked Lycanroc.

"Oh, I know where she is…" said Incineroar. "She's still in her room if she isn't down here already. Passimian told me that she kicked him out when he was trying to explain something and he heard her lock the door.

" _Well, I guess that explains why it was still locked…"_ Lycanroc thought. "Uh...what did he want to explain?"

"Oh uh...he banged a Salazzle in the last challenge and felt guilty since...he _kinda_ still thought about her…"

"He did WHAT?!" Lycanroc exclaimed, completely shocked.

 **000**

Passimian was lying on the seventh floor, watching television. He was still thinking about Hakamo-o, even guilt free, so he decided that watching some sports would cheer him up. It didn't.

"Ugh...why are the football teams chock full of idiots these days…" he muttered as he switched off the TV and tossed the remote to the side.

He rolled over onto his back and saw both Lycanroc and Oricorio, in her Sensu Style, glaring down at him. He sat up out of surprise before being tossed back down by the two of them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lycanroc exclaimed, angrily.

"What'd I do?"

"Don't play dumb…" Oricorio said, smacking him with one of her fan-wings. "Why didn't you tell Hakamo-o how you really felt?!"

Passimian groaned. "Damn it, Incineroar!"

"Talk!" Oricorio demanded, smacking him again.

"If I do, will you stop smacking m-" Passimian started before getting smacked again, making him aggravated.

"Oop. Sorry…"

Passimian sat back up, Lycanroc folding her arms in annoyance. "Well?"

Passimian sighed. "I didn't say, because I still agreed with her. Just because I find her attractive doesn't mean I want to bang her or be in a relationship with her like _that_."

"Why...have sex with a Salazzle?"

"Pheromones...and its sexiness…" Passimian simply put. "It meant jack shit. That's what I was trying to tell Hakamo-o last night, but she shut me out. I barely got to say anything before she told me to get out."

Lycanroc sighed. "So, you had sex with another female, feel guilty about it, and try to get back on the good side of a girl you're not even dating?"

"Well...yeah!"

Oricorio groaned. "Idiot."

"How am I an idiot?"

"You weren't in a relationship!" Oricorio exclaimed. "People get into numerous relationships; people have meaningless sex; it's part of life! So, you just wasted your time and probably screwed any chance you had at getting together with her, as you claim you wanted…"

"I wanted...to try and become friends...and see if she'd change her mind later on down the line…" Passimian explained a bit thoroughly. "I didn't want a fucking instant relationship! I was thinking about maybe near the end or after this whole thing was over!"

Lycanroc held her head. "Okay", she said, clasping her hands together. "You're gonna have to talk to her again."

"As soon I tried bringing up the relationship agreement, she told me to leave. So...I'm pretty sure she wants nothing to do with me", Passimian replied.

"Well, you're going to try…" Oricorio said threateningly, meeting him eye to eye. "And you'd better make it snappy, because if she's upset or glum during the challenge. YOU are going to regret it…"

Passimian gulped and turned to Lycanroc, who just had her arms folded with no readable expression. "O-Okay. But, you're gonna have to explain it to her first. If it's just me, I'm sure she'll do it again."

"Fine.." Oricorio replied. "But you're coming with us…"

Passimian groaned.

 **000**

Hakamo-o got up and was heading to her bathroom. She was still thinking about what Passimian said; it was annoying her to no end. She wanted to find him and beat the crap out of him for making her feel this way, but she knew that it wouldn't help anything.

She plopped on her toilet and started to pee, when she heard a knock at her door. She groaned. She had heard the knocking earlier, but didn't want to answer. Now that she was up, it was like an obligation. When she finished, she flushed the toilet and headed to the door.

She peeked through the peephole and saw Lycanroc and Oricorio. She sighed and unlocked the door before opening it, letting the two of them in.

"Hey Haka…" Lycanroc greeted softly. "How ya feeling?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" she replied as she sat on her bed.

"We know what happened between you and Passimian, so you may just want to tell us…" Oricorio said with a demanding tone.

Hakamo-o turned to Lycanroc, seeing Oricorio in this style.

"Sensu style brings sass and bossiness, remember?" Lycanroc responded upon seeing her expression.

The Scaly Pokemon let out a breath. "I don't know what really happened. As soon as he tried mentioning the relationship thing, I thought he was gonna try to flirt with me and try to get in my loins…" she explained. "So I just told him to leave. Then, he brings up things that I didn't really know nor care about. After that, I've just been feeling sick in my stomach and...I almost fucking CRIED last night because of that shit!"

"You almost cried?!" Oricorio exclaimed. "Oh-ho that bastard is gonna get it…"

"Now hold on Oricorio. I'm sure that wasn't his intent…" Lycanroc said, giving Passimian the benefit of the doubt. "Now. WHY did you almost start crying?"

"I wasn't upset _about_ him. I just had so many stupid feelings going through me thanks to him and I hated it!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "Seriously. He tells me he likes me after we both specifically said no relationship bullshit. Then, he tells me that he fucked a Salazzle? I may not have had any relationships, but I know that that's something you're not supposed to tell a girl you supposedly like!"

"So...you _do_ have feelings for him?"

"No…" Hakamo-o replied.

"You wouldn't be acting or feeling this way if you didn't…" Oricorio replied. "Face it. You like him…"

Hakamo-o groaned. She didn't really like Passimian. His appearance was attractive to her, but as a person, no.

"Say whatever you want…" Hakamo-o replied. "But, I don't like him. I've never had feelings for anyone before and it's not starting here. He's got a nice body, but that's all I can say I like about him."

Lycanroc and Oricorio exchanged looks. Passimian was right. She _wasn't_ gonna want him in there.

"I feel like that was just kind of strategy to get me off of my game…" Hakamo-o said, rubbing her face.

"It wasn't", Lycanroc said, her tone soft. "He said you were his type and we're the ones who blew this out of proportion. Well, Dhelmise informed you, but we tried to push it. So, it's our fault. Sorry."

Hakamo-o smiled softly before sighing and laying back on her bed. "We need to get rid of him…" she stated.

"Whoa, what?!" Lycanroc blustered in surprise.

"I don't want him here if it's just gonna cause confliction for me…" Hakamo-o explained. "It sounds like a bitch move, but another threat getting out doesn't sound like a bad idea. Hell, it may help us twice as much!"

"I'm fine with that…" Oricorio chirped.

"What? But...it just...that's his team's job…"

"We're gonna have to convince them…" Oricorio said. "It'll be best for our team."

"But, isn't that a bit...unfair?" asked Lycanroc. "I mean, I don't mind the eliminations, but telling the other team to do what we want? That's not right…"

"This is a competition…" said Oricorio. "We need to do whatever we need to in order to ensure our comfort and survival."

Lycanroc shook her head in disapproval. "I'm sorry, but I can't do it. It's just not in me…"

"That's okay", Hakamo-o said. "We'll just see how things go after the next challenge…"

Lycanroc nodded.

 **000**

" **If those two aren't going to get vengeance, then it's up to me…" said Oricorio.**

 **000**

The time approached 12:30, and Bewear was slowly waking up. He had ended up passing out sometime during the last round he had with Mudsdale. He could have sworn that his eyes were open...but he couldn't see anything!

He felt weight on him, but he couldn't see what it was, though he had a feeling.

"Hey sweetie~" he heard.

Mudsdale saw Bewear looking around in confusion, as if she wasn't there.

"Uh...you okay, Bewear?"

The bear rubbed his eyes before blinking them rapidly, trying to regain sight. It didn't work.

"Can't see anything…" Bewear said, rubbing his eyes again.

"What?" Mudsdale asked, concerned. "A-Are you sure?"

Bewear felt around the bed and ended up falling off of it.

"OMA!" Mudsdale exclaimed in shock. She looked around for anything that could possibly help him. Seeing nothing, she thought that maybe splashing his eyes would help. She got off of his bed as he started feeling around in an attempt to get up.

Unlike others, who would have been panicking, Bewear kept his cool and felt Mudsdale's leg neck to him. "Muddy?"

"Hold onto me, sweetie. I'm gonna get you to the bathroom…"

"How I'm gonna brush my teeth if I can't see?" Bewear asked as he walked with her.

Mudsdale scoffed. "You're not gonna brush your teeth", she said as they entered. She grabbed a dry towel from the counter with her teeth and bopped him with it a few times. It took a few tries, but he eventually grabbed it.

"Okay, now stick your left arm out…" she instructed as Bewear did so. "A bit lower."

Bewear started lowering his arm before touching something cylindrical.

"Okay, turn on the water and put the towel under it…"

Bewear did as he was told, wetting the towel with lukewarm water. He knew what Mudsdale wanted him to do next, so he went ahead and started rubbing his eyes with the towel.

A small bit of his vision came back before going away completely again. He groaned.

"Did it work?"

Bewear shook his head.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Mudsdale remembered her mother telling her brother that 'too much sex makes you go blind', but she wasn't expecting it to actually be true! This was all _her_ fault. If the others found out, she'd be in huge trouble!

Bewear moved his arms along the counter to walk himself back to the door. He felt Mudsdale's legs and just stayed put. "What do I do now, Muddy?"

"I...I don't know!" she replied, feeling increasingly bad about the situation. She needed to get him something that's help him get around. She got an idea. "A cane…" she said to herself.

But where was she gonna get one? She knew that no one on her team or the other team was going to have one; and none of them were Psychic-types, so she couldn't get one fast. Well, there weren't any _Psychic_ -types, but there was-

" _Dhelmise…_ " she whispered to herself. She needed to find the Sea Creeper. Bewear was on his team, so he should be concerned and willing to help him out.

"Okay, Bewear, you stay here. I'll be back…" Mudsdale said as she left, causing the bear to fall to the floor.

Mudsdale quickly headed to another room, kicking the door down.

"Hey!" she heard from inside as Dhelmise was startled awake. "What the hell are you doin', woman?!"

"Bewear needs help!" she exclaimed.

"And that constitutes you kicking my door down?"

Mudsdale growled. "Worry about that later! Bewear is fucking blind right now!"

"Uh...what?"

"He can't see shit...but his eyes are wide open!"

"And...how the hell did that happen?"

Mudsdale didn't know if what he mother said was true in this case or not, so she didn't give a real answer.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed. "Just...can you come and help?!"

"Tell Lunala when she gets here…" said Dhelmise. "We have a challenge, so-"

"She doesn't come until 6 PM and it's 12:54!" Mudsdale yelled. "He's your teammate...HELP HIM!"

Dhelmise groaned. "Fine! But you're fixing my door…"

"Whatever…"

 **-000-**

The two returned to Bewear's room, where Dhelmise saw him still sitting on the floor next to the bathroom.

"Alright, get up big boy…" Dhelmise commanded as Bewear got up on his own two feet, not knowing where the voice was coming from. "How'd this happen?"

Bewear shrugged. "I woke up and couldn't see."

"Being blind is bad for your eyes, you know…" Dhelmise said teasingly.

"You're not funny…" Mudsdale said with a glare.

"Says you…" Dhelmise retorted. "So, what am I supposed to be doing here?"

Mudsdale huffed. "Can't you fix his eyes or something? Or give him a cane?"

"Do I look like an optometrist to you?" Dhelmise retorted. "I don't eyes myself for fuck's sake!"

"What?" Mudsdale asked. "Then what's-"

"It's a compass...from the wheel", Dhelmise explained. "I have no eyes! I just know how to get around because I'm a Ghost-type!"

"Ugh...then just get him a damn white cane!"

"I say again...do I look like an optometrist?!"

Mudsdale growled. "You're useless!"

"Gee thanks…" Dhelmise replied. "How did you even know he was blind if he was in his room?"

Mudsdale looked to the side sheepishly. "What are you even doing on the male half of our team's floor?"

"I plead the fifth…" she stated.

"Plea denied…" Dhelmise retorted. "However...due to how nervous you look, how you seemed to already be here for _Bewear_ , and the smell that's in here; I'm guessing you two have been making this room co-ed…which is what the hosts don't want."

"So, what is it? Too much sex?"

"Shut up…" Mudsdale growled, annoyed that he was able to figure it out. "Just because I like to get it in doesn't mean anything. We're not hurting anyone…"

"...Have you been using protection?" asked Dhelmise.

"Well...there aren't any drug stores around, so….no", Mudsdale said with a glare.

"They're you're likely hurting your chances in this game…" Dhelmise replied. "Get pregnant and it's...man…"

"You don't know where it goes, so you really don't have to worry about it…"

"OKAY! Didn't need to hear that. I'm leaving. Hopefully Bewear doesn't fuck us over...and if he does, I'm blaming you. See ya…" Dhelmise said as he floated out of the room.

Mudsdale growled.

 **000**

" **Fucking bastard", Mudsdale growled. "It was like he didn't even care!"**

" **I swear if Bewear gets eliminated over this, I'm gonna feel so bad and empty…"**

 **000**

The time reached 4:23 PM, and everyone was waiting for the call from Lunala. On the seventh floor, Lycanroc was bothering Incineroar, with Pyukumuku nearby listening.

"So...how big is he?" Lycanroc asked.

"How big is what?" Incineroar asked, feigning ignorance.

"You know what I'm talking about~" Lycanroc replied, giving him sultry eyes.

"Uh...I prefer not to disclose that information. There are homewrecking sluts who watch these shows…" Incineroar replied. "I'm not putting my man out there…"

"Uh...if you're gay, then why are you worried about-"

"He's bisexual…" Incineroar replied, folding his arms.

Lycanroc gained a small smirk. "Oh really~?"

"Yeah, so I'm not gonna say anything about that…" Incineroar replied adamantly.

"Alright...then how does he handle you?"

Incineroar twitched. "Can you not ask provocative questions?"

"I'm curious…" Lycanroc replied, giggling.

Incineroar blushed, folding his arms. "He handles me fine…"

"Uh huh... _how_ fine…?"

Incineroar didn't reply, signalling that Lycanroc should drop it.

"Okay…" Lycanroc started. "Well, how'd you two start going out?"

Incineroar's serious look immediately turned into one of bashfulness. He blushed. "Well, y'see…"

 **-000-**

 _A young Litten knocked on the front door of a house near a forest entrance. He sat down, his tail wagging as he waited for the door to open._

 _After a while, a Lucario opened the door. It looked feminine, its chest a bit more busty and its thighs a bit thicker than normal. "Oh, hi Litten. What can I do for you?"_

" _Uh...can Riolu play?" Litten asked, hiding a faint blush._

" _Oh, he's in his treehouse sweetie. Head around back", she replied. "Does your father know you're here?"_

 _Litten nodded._

" _Okay...don't get into trouble…" she said before closing the door._

 _Litten did as he was instructed and headed behind the large house, setting his eyes upon the large tree and the structure near the top of it. There were a few boards leading up to it, acting as a ladder. He approached it with a smile and started climbing up._

 _There was a small hole in the bottom of the house and once inside his eyes drooped in interest. A young Riolu was napping on a small couch. The treehouse was very spacious, and thanks to the sturdiness of the tree, nothing would be falling any time soon. Across from the couch was a small television, which had cables that ran out of the window to allow it to work._

 _Litten approached the sleeping Riolu with dreamy eyes. He had developed a major crush on him as their friendship progressed and they got older. He would always fool around and mess with him in ways that other kids found 'weird', but neither of them seemed to mind. This was good for him, as this meant he could do whatever he wanted to him without him getting upset._

 _He didn't know if Riolu knew he liked, or well...loved him, but he was going to know today. He sat next to the jackal momentarily, staring at every inch of his body as he lie on the red couch. Litten got onto the couch, looking over him before lying on him and purring._

 _Riolu, suddenly feeling a bit of weight on him, as well as feeling vibrations, opened his eyes slowly and saw Litten gazing at him lovingly while lying on his chest. He couldn't tell if this was a dream or not._

" _Hi~" Litten purred, getting nose to nose with him._

" _Uh...h-hi…" Riolu replied, still a bit confused. "W-What are you doing here?"_

" _Well…" Litten started. "I just wanted to tell you that...I love you…" he said, blushing. "Protecting me from those assholes, helping me out with small things, hanging out with me willingly...I just…"_

" _Hey, that's what friends are supposed to do for each other…" Riolu said, giving him a hug as he sat up._

 _Litten could feel himself start tearing up when he said 'friend'. "Well. A-Actually...I was thinking about us being...m-more than friends…"_

 _Riolu stared at him for a few seconds, completely silent. He looked away for a few seconds. Litten understood why, as he's seen this happen on some shows that he and Riolu watched in the jackal's room. He realized that he may need to give him time._

 _He hopped off of the couch to head home and give him some time, but he was grabbed by his tail, stopping him. Looking back, he saw a smile on Riolu's face. "Where do you think you're going, cutie?"_

 _Litten's legs quivered in delight as he turned back and jumped into Riolu's arms, locking lips with him. He felt himself become lighter as a bright light enveloped him. Riolu was surprised at this as he felt Litten's body become thicker and larger. When the light stopped, a Torracat was straddling Riolu's lap, taking Litten's place._

 _They broke the kiss and they both admired Torracat's new body._

" _Whoa...were you just waiting for this moment?" asked Riolu._

 _Torracat giggled. "Maybe~" he purred, touching their noses together before connecting their lips again._

 _Riolu stood up briefly, before turning and lying Torracat down and lying over him, their makeout session continuing before Riolu broke it once more._

" _I love you…" Torracat repeated, staring into Riolu's eyes._

 _Riolu chuckled. "You're about to feel how I feel about you…"_

 _Torracat gained an excited smile._

 **-000-**

"Aww...how cute…" Lycanroc cooed. "And...a bit provocative. Hypocrite…"

Incineroar rolled his eyes with a smile.

"How old were you guys when that happened?" asked Lycanroc.

"I was 11, he was 12…" Incineroar explained. "But, we've been together most of our lives. Neither of us acted on it, though…"

"Oof...that's uh...pretty young, and how old are you now?" asked Lycanroc.

"21…" Incineroar replied.

"Wow...so it's been 10 years since you two officially got together?" Lycanroc asked.

"Yeah...and if I end up winning this, it'll give us a bit of spending money when we elope…" he said.

"Oh, you're eloping? Why not have a big wedding?"

"Why would we?" asked Incineroar. "My mom's dead, my dad hates me because I'm gay, and Lucario's parents don't even know…"

"Oh...that sucks…" Lycanroc said. "About your dad, I mean…"

"It no big deal…" Incineroar replied. "The bastard was hateful anyway…"

"COMPETITORS! LUNALA WILL BE THERE AT 6 PM, AS USUAL", a groggy Solgaleo roared over the speakers. "You have an hour and thirty minutes to prepare."

"And there we go…" said Lycanroc.

 **000**

Drampa was heading down to the lobby just so he could be there early. After showering with Togedemaru, he started to feel a bit down. He had no idea why, but he was. He didn't touch her, as he didn't to. He didn't even look at her, because he didn't want to.

The dragon had agreed to help Togedemaru get rid of Passimian, but he wouldn't be surprised if she changed her mind and went for _him_ just for that.

"Hmm...well, it's already done," he told himself. "Nothing I can do about it."

He sat in a chair and decided to take a nap to take up time. His head drooped and her soon found himself in a deep slumber.

 **-000-**

 _Drampa was lying in a bed inside of a rather decent sized home. The bed was a king sized, allowing him as much space available. There was a night stand next to the bed with a glass of water sitting on it, next to a lamp and a remote control. There was a soft rug on the floor, covering majority of the floor. A 75 in. television hung across the bed, with a dresser underneath it._

 _Drampa was snoozing calmly in his bed, the door closed, when it suddenly burst open, startling him out of his slumber._

" _Huh? What!?" he exclaimed, looking around._

" _Drampa…" a Haxorus growled, glaring at him. "The kids called me and said that there was another woman here…"_

" _What?" Drampa asked, genuinely confused. "Why would they-"_

" _Ugh...what's going on, here?" a Buneary said, waking up next to him._

 _Drampa paled. He had never seen this Buneary before in his entire life. And she looked VERY young, which frightened him._

" _You...cheating...BASTARD!" Haxorus exclaimed as she tried attacking him and the Buneary, only for him, to hold her off._

" _What are you, DOING?!" he exclaimed, pushing her back. "I've never seen this girl before! I was seriously in here, alone!"_

" _LIAR!" Haxorus roared, attempting to hurt him again. This time, the Buneary shrieked and ran out of the room._

 _As Drampa saw it go, he saw his step-son, an Axew, high five the Buneary and pass him a smirk. He gained a realization. "You fucking little shit!" he shouted angrily._

" _Don't you talk to my son that way!" Haxorus exclaimed, smacking him. Drampa growled and flipped her over, pinning her down to stop her assault._

" _Mommy! I called the police! They'll be here, soon!"_

" _WHAT?!" Drampa exclaimed before feeling a sharp blow against the side of his head and everything went black._

 _Drampa woke up in a jail cell. Looking around, he saw that the only other person in there with him was a Druddigon, who was staring at him with a sick smile. He gulped before looking back, through the bars, and seeing a desk. Nobody was there, though, and the lights were all off. The only light was the moonlight coming from the barred hole near the ceiling._

" _W-Where the hell am I?" he asked._

" _You're in a jail cell, boy…" the Druddigon said in a southern accent. The Druddigon rose up, and Drampa saw that a certain something was standing at attention, and the Druddigon had numerous tattoos and a few scars on his body._

" _What? W-Why am I in jail!?" he exclaimed, slithering to the bars and trying to bend them._

" _They brought you in unconscious. Apparently, you in here for child molestation and domestic violence. Jus' the type of sick sonofabitch that I like to take…" the Druddigon said, getting closer._

" _Hey, backup!" Drampa blustered angrily as he slithered against the back wall. "I DIDN'T hurt my wife and I damn well didn't molest any child!"_

" _That's not what your wife and son are saying…" Druddigon said, steadily getting closer, causing Drampa to freeze._

" _W-Why are they doing this to me?" he asked to no one in particular._

" _Oh...I'd rather be worried about how much you're gonna be able to take…"_

 _Drampa was still caught up in thoughts before another blow and darkness overcame him._

 **-000-**

Drampa woke up abruptly, falling out of the chair he was in. He was sweating profusely and panting heavily, looking around being eyeing the clock. 5:54 PM.

He turned back around and sniffed, wiping a bit of sweat from his head.

 **000**

 **Drampa just sat in silence, staring at the floor.**

 **000**

The other competitors began coming down as Drampa slithered out of the confessional. When the time finally hit 6 PM, the Moone Pokemon appeared in the lobby.

All of the competitors made it down, including Bewear, who had to get help from Mudsdale.

"Hello", Lunala greeted.

"Hi!" Pyukumuku responded cheerily, waving.

"Are you all excited for your next challenge?" she asked.

"Not really…" Dhelmise drawled.

"Good", Lunala replied. "Now, the ferry stops running at 6, so I'm going to be teleporting us to the next island."

"Aw...no pool?" Lycanroc asked.

"I'm fine with that…" Incineroar said, causing Lycanroc to pass him a disapproving look.

"Alright...let's get going…" Lunala said as her wings glowed a bright blue.

 **000**

Everyone appeared in a large gorge. The tall walls were layered in different rock. In the gorge was a dead tree and a small cave next to it.

Along with that, there was a table with eleven stools around it. All of the competitors and Lunala appeared next to the table.

"Welcome...to Poni Island…" Lunala introduced.

"Yep. My home..." Dhelmise started. "Still as dull and barren as I remember."

"Hey, I live here, too", Hakamo-o said with a glare.

"I rest my case…" Dhelmise replied, causing Hakamo-o to growl at him.

"What's with the table?" asked Pyukumuku.

"I'm about to get to that…" Lunala stated, a bit irked from being interrupted by Dhelmise. "Your first challenge...is a little game called ' _Would You Rather_?'"

"Oh Arceus, I hate that game…" Passimian said, facepalming.

"That's great…" Lunala said cheekily. "All the better for ratings. Now, take a seat at the table; Solgaleos on one side, Lunalas on the other.

The competitors took their respective seats, minus Bewear he didn't know where he was going. The others noticed this and exchanged glances.

"Uh...what's with him?" asked Togedemaru. "He's acting more retarded than usual…"

Upon saying that, Bewear immediately paused and turned toward the source. Mudsdale knew what he was capable of and immediately got in front of him before he harmed her. It didn't seem to help, though, as Bewear ended up pushing her along with him.

Seeing this, Lunala rolled her eyes and blasted Bewear back a bit with a Psychic. The Strong Arm Pokemon was weakened, but he was still able to get back up.

"No violence until the challenge has started…." Lunala said vexedly. "Now, come take your seat Bewear…"

Bewear, rubbed his head and blinked his eyes. Thankfully, he was able to see once again. He walked over to the last stool on his team's side. Seeing this, Mudsdale sighed in relief.

"Now…" Lunala started as stacks of cards appeared in front of each contestant. "Here's how the game works. One at a time, a player from each team will choose a card from their stack. On each card, there will be two actions that you will have to choose from. You must read out both actions and choose which one you would rather do. If you cannot complete the activity you choose, you are out. If you are able to pull through it, your team gets the point. There are three cards in each stack. The last player standing, or the team with the most points when all of the cards are gone, will win…"

"Wait...what if everyone on the team gets out?" Mudsdale asked.

"...That's common sense…" Lunala said simply. "Now. Since the Solgaleos won the last challenge, sadly…"

"Hey!"

"Quiet!" Lunala shouted, shutting them up. "Lunalas...you go first…"

 **-000-**

The five competitors exchanged looks before most of them turned to Passimian. Passimian noticed this and groaned. "Fine. I'll go first…"

He picked up his first card and looked at it, a brow raising in confusion. "Would you rather...participate in a 'soup kitchen' or be stabbed in the foot…." he read.

"What the hell is that shit? One is way better than the other!" Hakamo-o objected.

"Uh...does soup kitchen have quotes around it?" asked Incineroar.

"Yeah, why? It's still the better-"

"Yeah, no, that soup kitchen isn't what you think…" Incineroar chuckled.

"Incineroar, if you say anything else, you're out…" Lunala threatened with a glare.

Incineroar sighed, rolling his eyes.

"So? What's your decision?" Lunala asked.

"I'm not getting stabbed in the foot, so bring on the soup!" Passimian said, standing up.

Lunala gained a devious smirk.

 **-000-**

An old car was teleported into the vicinity, causing confusion amongst most of the players. Incineroar was the only one who looked unsurprised.

"Uh...what's this gotta do with a soup kitchen?"

"Well, what Incineroar was gonna explain was that _this_ soup kitchen is a completely different interpretation", Lunala explained.

"So...what is it?" asked Passimian. "And why is a car involved?"

"Well, first, step inside and I'll explain…" Lunala said, hiding her smirk.

Passimian eyed the car warily. It looked rusted, the seats looked like they were dusty and some parts were bitten off. "Uh...is it sterile?"

"What are you? A priss?"

"No, I just don't want-"

"Get in…" Lunala said in a demanding tone, to which Passimian obliged.

"Okay…" he said. "So, what now?"

Lunala teleported a Garbodor, Smeargle, Hitmonchan, and a Ditto inside of the car with him. Now the others were even more confused and Passimian was being squashed between the Garbodor and the Hitmonchan.

"Uh...what's going on here?"

"Well, y'see. A soup kitchen in this sense...is when a group of homeless guys have sex in a car…"

Passimian paled. "W-What?"

"Yep. So, do you ac-"

Passimian immediately pushed the Hitmonchan out of the way and hopped out of the car. "Nope, not happening. Not even if you fucking paid me!"

"Alright. Looks like you're the first one out of the challenge…" Lunala said.

"Oh please, like it matters. I doubt any of them would go through with it…" Passimian said, folding his arms. "Well, maybe Drampa, but-"

Drampa tightened his glare.

"Alright, take your seat…" Lunala said as he did so. "Solgaleos...you're up."

"I'll go first. Show them how it's done..." Hakamo-o said, making Passimian roll his eyes and fold his arms.

She picked up one of her cards, and just as she was about to read it-

"Wait a sec…" Dhelmise interrupted. "You didn't tell us what we get if we win…"

"...An advantage", Lunala said simply. "I thought that'd be pretty self-evident. Seriously, this your fourth challenge. Hakamo-o, carry on…"

Hakamo-o looked back at her card. "Would you rather...perform fellatio on a male of your choosing...or have sex with a female of your choosing…" her tone softened and she slowed down.

She blushed and growled, crumpling up the card.

"Well…?" Lunala urged. "What's your decision?"

"They're equally bad! What do you want?" Hakamo-o questioned with a growl.

"Oh-ho, but what happened to showing us how it's done?" Togedemaru teased.

Hakamo-o growled, clenching her fist tightly. She didn't want to do this, but she also wasn't a quitter. She was still a virgin, so she had zero experience with both actions. She didn't want to possibly cost her team a lead. They'd finally won a pre-challenge last time; she didn't want to screw it up for them.

She sighed in defeat.

"Haka...you don't have to do it...we understand", Lycanroc said. "I mean, I wouldn't even do it, and you know I am…"

"No, it's fine…" Hakamo-o said. "I don't want to cost us the challenge…"

"You really think that these others will have the balls to do what's on their cards?" Oricorio questioned. "Their own 'leader' refused his first card…"

"You never know…" said Incineroar, folding his arms. He didn't really approve of it, but he knew that his team needed to win as well."

"It's fine. I'll just be sure to scrub my mouth out with soap and use a ton of mouthwash…" Hakamo-o said.

"Okay, this just turned extremely depressing", Mudsdale said. "Can she just choose another card?"

"You're not on her team!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "She pulled it. If she wants to do it, let her…"

"Would you?" Incineroar asked, giving her a look.

"No way…" Togedemaru stated.

"Exactly…"

Togedemaru rolled her eyes.

"Haka, it's fine", Lycanroc said sternly as Hakamo-o stared at her own lap.

"Well?" Lunala asked. "I need a choice…"

Hakamo-o sighed. "Neither…"

"Wow. Both self-proclaimed leaders taken out by their first cards…" Lunala stated. "That's...pretty sad."

"Oh, so you're saying that you'd do it if you were in our shoes?" Dhelmise asked.

"I'd definitely do the fellatio", Lunala said proudly. "I have a man, so I'd just choose to do him…"

"Wait, what?" Lycanroc asked in confusion. "It said-"

"Male of _your_ choosing. It didn't say it had to be anyone in the competition…" Lunala explained. It didn't deter Hakamo-o's decision, she simply folded her arms as her cards disappeared.

"Alright...next Lunala…"

Incineroar was sitting next to Passimian, so the others all turned their gazes towards him. He groaned and grumbled in annoyance as he picked up one of his cards.

"Would you rather...be Focus Punched in the gut by a Machamp...or hold your breath in a barrel of sweat…" he read before twitching.

"Well, that's not so bad…" Mudsdale said. "At least it's nothing sexual…"

"Yeah...woo-hoo…" Incineroar said sarcastically. "No dicks, no cunts, no jizz, just...get punched or drown in sweat…"

"You say it like it's a bad thing…" Dhelmise said. "Does that mean-"

"No!" Incineroar exclaimed, despite Dhelmise already knowing the truth. "I'm just saying I'd rather have one of those than get punched by Machamp or be forced to almost drown in sweat! I'm a Fire and Dark-type for fuck's sake!"

"Make a decision…"

Incineroar groaned. "Fine...I'll take a gut punch…"

"Interesting choice…" Lunala commented.

 **-000-**

A Machamp was brought into the vicinity. Incineroar just gawked at it for a few seconds, staring at its muscular form.

He got up and walked toward it before standing in front of it. He gulped in nervousness, looking at its four muscular arms.

"Alright...begin!"

The Machamp drew back its right arm, focusing all of its power and energy into the fist, before bringing it back hard, striking Incineroar in the stomach and sending him into the opposite wall of the canyon.

"And Incineroar gains the first point for his team!" Lunala cheered.

 **000**

 **Incineroar groaned while holding his stomach. "Yep...giving a blowjob would've definitely been better…" he strained to say.**

 **000**

Incineroar returned to his seat, holding his head down from the pain in his stomach.

"Alright...next Solgaleo…"

Lycanroc was next. She picked up her card and started to read it.

"Would you rather...eat live Joltik...or eat dead Caterpie... " she read. "Well, it's a Pokemon-eat-Pokemon world, so...I guess I'll eat the dead Caterpie. At least they wouldn't be able to feel anything…"

Lunala smiled.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc was given a platter of five dead Caterpie. She was a bit nervous about this, as she'd never eaten the worms before; she wasn't a bird. She took a deep breath as she picked up one of the deceased Pokemon by its antennae. She opened her mouth and placed it inside before chewing it slightly, feeling all of the insides squirt inside of her mouth, and swallowing it. She shuddered. Maybe she should have chosen the Joltik. Sure, they would have shocked her mouth, but at least they were small.

"One down, four to go…" Lunala stated.

Lycanroc sighed and this time, took two of the Caterpie before placing them into her mouth. She started chewing them, these ones having a bit of a spicy taste to them. The guts made her almost puke, but she was able to hold them down.

She grabbed the last two and tossed them into her mouth before chewing them as well, shaking her fist in displeasure before finally swallowing and opening her mouth to show that they went down.

"Congrats!" Lunala said, a bit annoyed that she was able to pull it off.

 **-000-**

"Lunalas, you're next again…" Lunala said.

"I think we get the pattern by now…" Togedemaru said, giving her a look. It was her turn next, anyway.

Togedemaru picked up a card. "Would you rather...kiss a guy on the cheek...or be spanked with a paddle three times…."

"Oh wow. Of course they get some pretty easy, one-note challenges and we get ones that are tedious or weird…" Dhelmise commented. "I wonder why…"

"I advise that you shut your trap before things are worse for you…" Lunala threatened.

Dhelmise groaned.

Togedemaru looked around at all of the guys near her. The card didn't say of her choosing, so it was safe to assume that it had to be one of these guys; an annoying tiger, a pervert, a love monkey, an ugly cucumber, a retarded bear, or sarcastic seaweed.

"Um...I think I'll take the spanking…"

All of the girls were confused by that decision, as were a few of the guys.

"Wait...you'd rather be smacked on the ass with wood three times instead of just giving one of the guys a peck on the cheek?" Mudsdale asked.

"My decision…" Togedemaru said, undeterred by her 'reassessment' of her situation. "Bring on the paddle…"

 **-000-**

Togedemaru was strapped onto a table with a wooden spanking apparatus attached to it.

"Alright Togedemaru...you ready?" asked Lunala.

"I still don't see why you won't just kiss a guy on a cheek…" Mudsdale said. "This seems counterproductive…"

"Just because you bang Bewear everyday doesn't mean she's gonna be quick to show someone affection…" Dhelmise stated, causing Mudsdale's eyes to widen as she turned to Lunala. Strangely, Lunala didn't seem to be concerned.

Dhelmise was confused about this, as Mudsdale smiled.

"Hey! Ghost bat! Didn't you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you. I just don't care", Lunala said. "We watch you guys from the hall and we're indifferent unless someone gets pregnant. Now, Togedemaru?"

"Yeah yeah, bring it on…" she said.

"Okay…"

The spanking apparatus drew back before smacking her with all of its power, almost launching her out of the straps she was in. She clenched her teeth and held onto the table as she was hit once again, causing her to squeak out in pain and have to hold on tighter as it hit her once more.

She shuddered and fought back the tears as she was unstrapped from the table.

"Congrats Togedemaru. You made it. That's another point for the Lunalas," Lunala said with a smile.

 **000**

" **Is it weird that I actually liked that a bit?" Togedemaru said, blushing slightly.**

 **000**

Oricorio picked up her card. "Would you rather...escape a Saw trap...or be beaten with a cereal spoon…"

Upon hearing that, everyone gave a Lunala a 'really?' look. Lunala looked back sheepishly.

"Never said that they were all going to be sensical..." she said.

"Uh...I guess I'll take the spoon…" Oricorio said, feigning unsurety. "I mean...it sounds so...bad…"

"Alright. Enough sarcasm. You want the spoon, you're gonna get the spoon…" Lunala said.

 **-000-**

An Alakazam was teleported into the area and Oricorio raised a brow. She had an advantage over it in this form, so she wasn't really afraid or anything. Then, she remembered that she was supposed to be beaten with one of its spoons. She still wasn't fazed.

"Alright...you ready for the spoon beatdown?" Lunala asked.

"Bring it on…" she said.

"Okay…" Lunala started. "Alakazam...you may begin…"

The Alakazam mega evolved, numerous spoons appearing over its head.

"Uh...I thought it was just one spoon…"

"Well….you thought wrong…" Lunala said. "Let 'er have it!"

The spoons started floating towards Oricorio, beating her mercilessly. She yelled out in pain as the silver spoons tapped her repeatedly.

After about thirty seconds, it ended and Oricorio had an agitated look on her face.

"Well...I guess you get another point for your team…"

 **-000-**

Oricorio returned to her seat angrily, ovular marks covering her body,

"Next!"

Mudsdale looked down at her cards. "Uh...little help?"

Drampa silently picked up one of her cards and lifted it in front of her face.

"Thanks...I guess", she said begrudgingly. "Would you rather...shove your face in Miltank manure...or drink rotten MooMoo Milk…"

"Wow...both things that'll ruin your sex life here…" Dhelmise commented. "How ironic…"

"At least I have one!" Mudsdale exclaimed angrily.

"Yeah, after treating the guy like trash for the first days we were in this game", Dhelmise replied. "Nice job…"

Mudsdale growled.

"Mudsdale. I need a choice…" Lunala said, refocusing her.

Mudsdale took a breath. "MooMoo Milk. No way is my face going in shit…"

"But your breath will surely smell like it…" he said with a smirk.

"Fuck you!" she growled.

 **-000-**

A bottle of old, rancid MooMoo Milk was placed in front of her. The odor was very pungent, causing almost everyone to turn back and plug their noses. The liquid looked chunky and solid.

"Yeah...that's rancid…" said Lunala, holding her own breath. "Bottoms up…"

Mudsdale looked at the bottle and gulped in nervousness before looking toward Bewear for some sort of support. All she got was his usual blank stare. She decided to use this to her advantage and held her breath as she put the bottle in her mouth and threw her head back. It took a while, but it started going down her throat. She shuddered and gagged numerous times, but it all went down eventually.

"Alright…" Lunala said. "Another point…"

Immediately, Mudsdale ran to the side and started throwing the milk back up.

 **-000-**

As the sound of Mudsdale's retching was heard, Dhelmise got one of his cards.

"Would you rather...electrocute yourself...or the person next to you…" he read. He turned to Oricorio and to Pyukumuku. Both of them were weak to Electricity, while he wasn't.

Would he take it for himself and save his teammates the trouble? Or still get a point for their sacrifice? Obviously the latter.

"Hmm…" Dhelmise said.

Oricorio gave him a death glare as Mudsdale continued to puke in the background. And due to the sound of puking, he decided to go with Pyukumuku.

"Yeah, no electrocution for me…" Dhelmise said. "No hard feelings Pyukumuku…"

"Are you kidding me?!" Hakamo-o growled, slamming her arms onto the table, confused as to why he wasn't going to take the hit.

"Hey, I don't wanna get shocked; whether it won't affect me or will doesn't matter…" Dhelmise defended. "My choice…"

"Alright...uh...pretty dick move, but okay…" said Lunala. "Pyukumuku...come on over here…"

 **-000-**

Pyukumuku was sitting on a metal chair.

"This chair is chilly…" he said.

"Yes, I know…" Lunala said. "Now…"

Suddenly, a wormhole opened next to the canyon. A huge creature that looked made of black wires and cables walked out. It had a glowing, white spiky head, with leaves that resembled zip-ties down its arms. Its tail resembled a plug and its arms ended in what looked like frayed wiring.

Everyone was taken aback as it stepped out and the wormhole disappeared.

"Hello Xurkitree...how've you been?" Lunala greeted.

"zzz...Arceus won't let us into the..zzz….hall and I have to stay...zzz….in a shit hole instead of being with...zzz...you all. How do you think...zzz...I've been?!" Xurkitree replied, its voice indicating that it was male.

"Ooh...that's gotta suck…" Lunala muttered.

"Ya think!?" Xurkitree exclaimed, startling the others a bit. "Now, what do you...zzz...want?"

"Could ya stop with the 'zzz' thing, it's annoying…" Lunala replied. "And I just need you to use Discharge on this little guy…"

Xurkitree did it almost immediately, knocking Pyukumuku out. "There. Can I go now?"

"...Sure…"

The wormhole reappeared and he immediately went back inside. Lunala turned back to the contestants, who had bewildered expressions on their faces. "...What? You all know about Ultra Beasts…"

"Yeah...but I thought they were supposed to be scary...he was just...boring…no offense to him," Lycanroc said.

"Eh...he's used to it", Lunala replied. "Anyways, you guys get another point…"

 **-000-**

Drampa picked up his card. Upon seeing the contents, he sighed to himself.

"Hurry up and read, pervert…" Oricorio urged.

Drampa gave her a look before looking back at his card. "Would you rather...kiss a Cleffa all over...or eat a fish cake…" he read. He mentally groaned.

Everyone around groaned or rolled their eyes.

"Do we seriously have to watch him molest a child?" asked Togedemaru. "That's sick even on-"

"Fish cake…" he said, his tone sounding depressed.

The others were a bit surprised, but figured that he was just doing it to get their respect, which wasn't gonna happen no matter what.

"I thought you said that you were allergic to fish…" Incineroar countered, folding his arms.

"I am…" Drampa replied as Lunala placed a plate with a fish patty in front of him. He took a deep breath. He knew that doing this put him at risk of anaphylaxis, but that memory completely messed with his head.

He gulped in fear. "The whole thing?"

"Yep…"

Drampa sighed before closing his eyes and taking the entire patty into his mouth. He started chewing it, shuddering as he did so. He swallowed it, and almost immediately, he felt itchiness in his throat and his face started swelling.

He started to gag, holding his throat as sweat came from his body.

"Uh...aren't you gonna help him?!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"Why would you want him to survive?" asked Togedemaru.

"He's still a Pokemon for fuck's sake!" Lycanroc exclaimed as she took an EpiPen from her mane and rushed over to stab him in the side of the neck, allowing Drampa to breathe.

"Where did that EpiPen come from?" asked Hakamo-o, sincerely confused.

"I always keep it in my mane in case of emergencies…"

"Oh come on, what are _you_ allergic to? Sounds like bullshit so the author makes us feel-"

"No breaking the fourth wall, god damn it!" Lunala exclaimed, interrupting her.

"FYI, I'm allergic to Beedrill…" Lycanroc replied to Togedemaru, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Well...Pyukumuku, you're next…" Lunala said, turning to the Sea Cucumber, who was still gaining a bit of consciousness back.

He groaned as he was floated back to the table by Lunala. Pyukumuku chose one of his cards. "Would you rather...let a firework go off in one of your appendages...or electrocute the player next to you…"

"Hey, what do you know, he gets to have payb-"

"Fireworks!" Pyukumuku cheered.

Everyone stared at him, while Dhelmise couldn't help but laugh. They were bewildered as to why he would choose more punishment for himself instead of getting revenge in Dhelmise.

"Pyukumuku...what are you thinking!?" Passimian exclaimed.

"Not your team!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"It'll be fun!" Pyukumuku cheered.

 **-000-**

Pyukumuku had a firework duct taped to his innards-hand. "Wee!" he cheered, waving it around.

"Alright, let's light it up…" Lunala said as the firework's fuse was suddenly lit as Pyukumuku continued to wave it.

After a few seconds, it went off, launching him into the air before it exploded in the night sky. The bright colors of red, blue and pink came out as the others looked in surprise.

Pyukumuku landed back on the ground with a groan.

"Well...that's another point…" Lunala said with a sigh. "Okay, you know what-"

"No, you'd better not try to give your team an advantage!" Dhelmise interrupted, causing Lunala to growl.

"FYI, I was going to just end this challenge after Bewear since I realized that it was gonna take up more time than I thought…" Lunala explained. "But, since you keep heckling me...let's all have another round…"

Everyone groaned and glared at Dhelmise.

 **000**

" **Fine! I'll keep my mouth shut…" he muttered.**

 **000**

"Incineroar, your turn again…" Lunala said.

The tiger groaned as he picked up another card. "Would you rather...drink a cup of...semen...from a person of your choosing...or...devour Feebas Milt…"

Incineroar had to hide his excitement, not for the milt, but for the first option. He held a look of disgust on his face, while Dhelmise, Pyukumuku, Lycanroc, and Passimian knew he was faking it.

"Well, this should be easy for you. You're gay…" Dhelmise said, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

Lycanroc and Passimian were glaring at Dhelmise, while the others looked at the tiger in shock. He twitched before ripping his card in half. "You know what, FUCK IT! Yeah, I'm gay. Whoop-de-fucking doo. At least now I don't have to feel fucking weird anymore", he said sarcastically. "FUCK YOU DHELMISE!" he roared, blasting a Flamethrower in his direction. The seaweed monster disappeared, causing the move to miss him, before coming back into view.

"Oh please. It's not a big fucking deal…" Dhelmise groaned. "You're the one who made it into some big thing and tried to keep it secret…when it's literally nothing…"

"Alright, after this challenge, we're moving on…" Hakamo-o declared. "This is stupid, so Incineroar, just choose your damn thing so Bewear can get his done…"

"Hey, I'm the host here…" Lunala announced. "But yeah. What she said…"

"How predictable…" Dhelmise said, rolling his eyes.

"QUIET!" Oricorio and Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"I'll take the first option. And make it my fiance's...I mean, since I'm out now…"

A cup of a white liquid was placed in front of him. The liquid had traces of hair inside of it. Everyone else recoiled back as Incineroar picked up the cup and chugged it like it was nothing, licking his lips afterwards.

Almost everyone had a look of shock or were just looking away.

"There…" he said. "Next…"

"On that disturbing note...Bewear!" Lunala exclaimed. "End us off…"

Bewear picked up his card. "Would you rather…step on 20 Legos at the same time...or poke yourself with nails."

"Oh, that's tame…" Lycanroc said with a smile.

"Legos…" Bewear said simply.

 **-000-**

Two piles of legos, ten in each pile, were lying on the ground. It was starting to get darker, so Lunala used her Full Moon Phase to illuminate the area. Bewear stepped on the legos, not showing any sign of pain.

After a few seconds, he stepped off, shaking the ones that stuck to his foot off. "Ow…" he said emotionlessly.

"And that's another point…" said Lunala. "So in the end...we have a tie...wonderful…"

Hakamo-o sighed. "This is what I was afraid would happen…"

"You're not sucking anyone off or grinding with anyone…" Lycanroc said matter-of-factly.

"Well...since this is the case, and I don't wish to waste any more time, regardless of Dhelmise irritating every fiber of my being…" Lunala explained. "Nobody gets the advantage, so let's just move on to the next challenge…"

 **000**

" **Alright. That's it. I was losing interest in actually trying to fuck others over; I was actually having a bit of fun; but fuck EVERYONE now. Lycanroc, Passimian, you two are still my only friends here", Incineroar explained. "From now on, no more mister nice cat in these fucking challenges! Dhelmise, YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!"**

 **000**

" **...I'm already dead…" Dhelmise said, having heard the tiger despite the soundproofing.**

 **000**

Everyone was standing in front of the cave in the canyon. It was now very dark outside, despite the moonlight shining down, so Lunala continued illuminating the way with her Full Moon Phase.

"Alright. Welcome to your next challenge," she started. "All you have to do is traverse the canyon, make it to the Trial Site, and grab your team flag that is there. No psychic- or ghost-type abilities will be allowed. The first team to grab their flag wins the challenge. The losing team sends someone home…"

"Okay...and how are we supposed to see in a dark-ass cave?" Incineroar asked.

"Well, the advantage in the last challenge was going to be flashlights…" Lunala revealed. "But, since nobody won, no one gets them. Better find your own way…"

Everyone groaned.

"Now, you all have fun…" Lunala said. "The challenge begins...NOW!"

Everyone started rushing into the cave.

 **000**

All of the competitors ended up in the same vicinity, a bit of moonlight allowing them to see only slightly.

Incineroar used Flamethrower to illuminate the area more, allowing everyone to know where to go. There was a straightforward path, and a path that was blocked by an enormous rock.

Seeing this, both teams rushed forward, minus Bewear and Pyukumuku, who stared at the large rock. Pyukumuku figured that Bewear could be strong enough to handle the rock.

"Bewear, can you move this rock?" asked Pyukumuku.

Bewear looked back at the rock and pushed it forward, sliding it back in one shove and causing it to fall into a hole.

Feeling that rumble, the others that were still running up the path leaping over rocks that were in the way turned back and Bewear pick up Pyukumuku and start walking down the other path.

"What are those morons doing?!" Oricorio exclaimed as the lights started dimming. They turned back to see the others continuing forward.

Hakamo-o growled.

"Well, if we lose, we know who to blame…" Dhelmise said, causing the girls to glare at him.

"BEWEAR! PYUK! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Lycanroc asked, hesitantly going back down. The others shortly followed.

 **000**

"We've got this in the bag", said Passimian as he continued leaping over the rocks, with the others either doing the same or breaking through them.

"Where do you think those idiots were going?" asked Togedemaru.

"Who cares?" Incineroar growled.

"Ugh...are you still on that?" Togedemaru replied. "There's nothing special about your sexuality. Leave it alone!"

"Fuck you!" Incineroar roared.

Passimian groaned. "Can we worry about this another time?" he asked, stopping. "Now's not the time to bring this shit up…"

Drampa continued going forward and heading out of the cave. He immediately found himself in a large circular path. Following the right way, he found himself on the next path that led across the canyon gap. Gulping, he immediately started flying as the others came out.

"DRAMPA!"

Hearing his name be called, he groaned and turned back.

"Where are you going?!" Passimian exclaimed.

"AND THE SOLGALEOS WIN!"

"No way…" Mudsdale said. "No. Fucking. Way!"

"I swear if Dhelmise used some bullshit…" Incineroar growled.

 **000**

Everyone was brought back to the front of the cave.

"Well, that was the fastest challenge ever…" Lunala commented.

"I still don't see how they win! They obviously cheated!" Togedemaru accused.

"Oh please…" Lycanroc replied. "Bewear and Pyukumuku just found a shortcut for us…"

"Ugh...this game is just shit…" she said.

"Hmm...this didn't take long at all. It's just 8:45…" Lunala said, knowing the time immediately.

"Wow. This really DIDN'T take much time…" Oricorio said. "Oh well. Let's get on back to the hotel-"

"Nope", Lunala said. "We're gonna have one more round of _Would You Rather?_ "

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"You're kidding...y-you have to be…" Mudsdale said. "We'll take the loss!"

"Uh...you sure about this?" Lunala asked, surprised to hear her team saying this. Then, she looked at a possible reason why and groaned.

"Yes...definitely", said Togedemaru.

Lunala shook her head in disappointment. "Fine. Solgaleos, you win…"

"Uh...yay?"

"Let's just get back to the hotel…" Lunala said as she started glowing and they were all teleported out of the area.

 **000**

" **This...is perfect", Togedemaru said. "Drampa and I both have votes toward Passimian. Now all we have to do blow off the dumb meeting and persuade Mudsdale…"**

 **000**

Mudsdale was on the way up to the seventh floor when she was stopped by Togedemaru, who stopped the elevator.

"Mudsdale, we need your assistance…"

"Assistance with what?" asked Mudsdale, looking at her suspiciously.

"Drampa and I are thinking about getting rid of Passimian…" she explained.

"WHAT?!" Mudsdale exclaimed. "Why would you want to do that?!"

"Because he's not being a good leader!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "Seriously. He failed the first challenge today while everyone else was perfectly fine doing their choice. Hell, Drampa could have fucking DIED doing his and Incineroar drunk semen!"

"Yeah but-"

"But what?" Togedemaru asked. "Just because he acts as a leader doesn't mean he's a good one. Plus, he's been playing with Hakamo-o's emotions…"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I overheard Incineroar and Lycanroc talking this morning. Apparently, Passimian liked Hakamo-o, but he chose to have sex with a Salazzle instead of telling her first…"

"You're lying...you've gotta be. He seems like such a nice guy…"

"All guys are nice until feelings and emotions are involved. They just prey on females' bodies…" Togedemaru claimed. "Just something to think about. It'd really help us out…" she said, pressing the button with her needle, allowing the elevator to continue.

 **000**

" **Arceus, I don't know what to do. Do I vote for Drampa or Passimian!?" Mudsdale asked. "Drampa HAS been consistently helping with challenges, but he's such a sick piece of shit! And Passimian's nice, but he's had the same amount of failures as the rest of one. Actually, another one considering that he** _ **was**_ **the only one not to take his challenge…"**

" **Ugh...this sucks!"**

 **000**

"Where are they?" asked Passimian, as he and Incineroar were the only ones on the seventh floor at the moment.

"Who cares?" asked Incineroar, still angry.

"Dude. I know you're pissed that it came out like that, but-"

"No, it's not just that he told everyone else I was gay. It's the fact that he did it when it came to _those_ challenges…" Incineroar growled. "I'm not a sexual fucking deviant! The only thing that happens sexually to me is in my fucking dreams and that's it! How did he even know, anyway?"

"I don't know. We surely didn't tell him…" Passimian replied.

"Well someone must've…" Incineroar said. "Either Lycanroc or...Pyukumuku…" he growled. "I'm gonna destroy him!"

"How are you so sure?" asked Passimian. "What if he just guessed or found out another way? He's a Ghost-type after all…"

Incineroar sighed before taking a breath. "I'm gonna-"

"LUNALAS! COME ON DOWN FOR ELIMINATION!"

"Fuck!" Passimian exclaimed. "Well, hopefully they vote for Togedemaru or Drampa…"

"Vote for what now?" a voice asked as the Roly-Poly and Draft Horse Pokemon stepped out of the elevator.

The guys saw that the two of them were stepping out of the elevator.

"Okay. I see how it is…" Togedemaru said. "We'll see who goes…" she said as she and Mudsdale went back into the elevator.

The guys exchanged nervous glances.

 **000**

The Lunalas came back down to the lobby to cast their votes.

After they all did, they waited outside for the results. Drampa was keeping his distance from the others, while Incineroar and Passimian watched him. Togedemaru was smirking, while Mudsdale held a neutral expression.

After a while Lunala came out.

"Alright. Based on the votes, it was one for Togedemaru, one for Drampa, and three for Passimian…" Lunala explained. "So, Passimian, you're out…"

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "What the hell guys?!"

"You fucked over the first challenge for us and your leadership skills suck", Togedemaru said bluntly. "Plus, what you were doing to Hakamo-o was scummy as well…"

"How do you even know about that?!"

"Oh...that might've been my fault…" Incineroar spoke up. "I was talking to Lycanroc and forgot she was in there for a second…"

"Passimian...it's time to go…"

"Come on Mudsdale, did you seriously vote for Passimian over Drampa?!" Incineroar exclaimed, seeing that she had to have been the defining vote.

"I'm sorry!" she said, heading back into the hotel.

Passimian sighed as he started to go. Incineroar gave him a hug and a pat on the back. "See ya, man…"

Passimian nodded and started to go.

 **000**

He headed to the terminal and a boat appeared. "This sucks…"

"Yeah, it does…" Lunala said. "I thought you'd at least make it to the merge!"

Passimian prepared to get on the boat when he heard a voice calling his name. He turned back around to see Hakamo-o running to him.

He was surprised and a bit excited, but that was quickly dashed as she kicked him in the goods, causing him to flinch and hold himself.

"Oooh…." Lunala flinched.

"Okay...I deserve that…" he strained, dropping to his knees.

Hakamo-o then kissed his cheek, shocking him. "Wait, I'm confused…" he groaned as he tried to stand back up.

"Good…" Hakamo-o said with a glare before leaving.

Passimian sighed before he hopped into the boat. The boat promptly sped off.

"And there we have it. Passimian is gone, who could've seen that coming?" she asked rhetorically. "What will happen next time? Find out next time on Total...Pokemon...ALOLA!"

 **000**

 **Wow...Passimian's gone already. Who could've predicted that from the last chapter? Togedemaru strikes again. Incineroar's secret and out and maybe now we'll see how he really plays. I don't think Bewear and Mudsdale will be doing anything else any time soon. And Hakamo-o still has issues. I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total Pokemon: Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Leave a review…." Passimian groaned, still clutching his privates.**

 **000**

 **A Passimian did a backflip before landing on a freestanding punching bag. He was apparently in a gym, as there were numerous other Fighting-types working out in the background.**

" **Yo! My name's Passimian", he greeted. "Why should you pick me?"**

" **Well, I'm buff…" he said, hopping off of the bag and flexing.**

" **Athletic…" he said, spinning his berry.**

" **And I'm a great leader", he said proudly.**

" **So, unless someone else has those same characteristics, you'll be missing out on this!" he said flexing again before an exercise ball was thrown at his face offscreen. "OW! WHAT THE HELL?!"**

 **000**


	6. Episode 6: Out of the Picture

**Boom shaka laka!  
**

 **000**

With Passimian's elimination, Hakamo-o was able to actually sleep peacefully without thinking about him. It was like as soon as he was eliminated, a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. They hadn't even interacted that often!

She was hanging out with Lycanroc and Oricorio, as per usual, on the following Thursday night. They had gotten an entire Supreme Pizza from the buffet area and were in Oricorio's room. They were watching some of the other competitions that were going on at the same time as theirs. They figured that their team could get some tips from more successful teams. With only six players, things were bound to be more tedious.

"Y'know...seeing all of these shows makes me wonder…" Oricorio, who was in her Pa'u Style, started.

"Wonder what? How all of these shows are still legal?" asked Hakamo-o. "Because that's what I'm wondering."

"No, I'm wondering why Giratina and Arceus approve all of the exact same shows," she explained. "They're all the exact same concept, but there's just different legendaries and players. Plus, there it's like the same legendaries hosting different shows and the same contestants on different shows going on at the same time. It's really weird…"

Lycanroc and Hakamo-o exchanged looks before looking back at the pink bird. "Uh…" Lycanroc started. "Maybe they've competed on them at different times and they're just now doing the episodes…"

"Maybe; but it's still strange," she replied, nibbling on a piece of pepperoni.

Hakamo-o set a slice back down on a plate before looking back at the television, where a team was at an elimination ceremony hosted by a Tyranitar and Dragonite. "Seeing these things is making me think about our own team's chances…"

"How so?" asked Lycanroc. "I thought we got the possible negativity you had towards us out of your system."

"No, I'm not being negative," Hakamo-o defended. "I'm just saying that our chances are very dependent on the challenges or dumb luck. We still don't know each other's' true skills. We just got lucky that Bewear and Pyukumuku found the shortcut…"

"Hey, if we win, we win. If we lose, we lose…" Lycanroc replied. "This game is full of craziness and unexpected results. Some shows even have hosts that decide who win or lose just out of spite…"

"That is correct…" Oricorio spoke up.

"Well, I think that we need to have a clearer understanding of what we're actually good with or at…" Hakamo-o explained. "We've won two challenges in a row and I'd like to keep it that way…"

"Wow. I'm surprised Passimian going hasn't had that much of a negative effect on you…" Lycanroc replied. "You're actually a lot _more_ serious…"

"I said I wasn't interested and that moment of weakness what just in the moment", Hakamo-o solemnly explained. "With him gone, I'm not gonna deal with that any more…"

"Speaking of dealing with things, I hope Incineroar's doing well…" Lycanroc said genuinely. "Dhelmise didn't have to just completely out him like that. It didn't even do anything to negatively affect them. He just did the challenge in a snap out of anger…"

"I don't see why he wanted to hide his sexuality anyway…" Hakamo-o replied, folding her arms. "I doubt anyone actually cares. No one here is super duper religious…"

"He told me before that he didn't want to hear anyone's mouth if he got eliminated. He's seen reports and videos of people harassing other competitors who were gay on these shows; he didn't want to catch a case if he ended up beating them within an inch of their lives…" Lycanroc explained.

"He's a nearly six foot tiger with a muscular build…" Oricorio said deadpanned. "Anyone who trash talks someone like _that_ for _any_ reason is asking for it…"

"Well, true, but I think he feels like it's added disrespect because their community already gets hate from some intolerant people…" Lycanroc replied.

"He's a big boy", Hakamo-o replied. "I think he'll be just fine…" she said before taking another bite of the pizza in her plate.

 **000**

Incineroar was sitting in his room watching horror movies with a blank expression. He didn't know whether to be glad or pissed off that Dhelmise just outed him.

On one hand, he received another call from his fiance, who told him to try and NOT think about him so much because it may distract him from the game; he also told him to not do anything rash or cheatsy or there'd be punishment when he got back home. When he said things like that, it didn't help Incineroar think about him less, but he knew that when he wasn't on his mind, he was much more focused.

And on the other hand, there'd probably be a number of jackasses coming up to him talking shit and throwing slurs his way. Being on these shows almost always give you a celebrity status, so if he ended up beating someone's ass for talking bad about him, he'd be looked down upon and it'd cause even MORE negativity to head in his direction. He was very wary about that, but he always just said that it was nobody's business what he liked so he wouldn't sound paranoid.

With that in mind, he was definitely going to play the game his way now. With Passimian gone, he had no one to really talk to other than probably Lycanroc. So, here he was, watching SAW movies.

He sighed as he lied on his couch, watching the idiotic Pokemon fall for the traps. "How can someone be so stupid? Just pull the lever without leaning into the blades. There's a space!"

He looked at the clock and saw that it was approaching 11 o'clock. He sighed and decided to hop into bed. With his man telling him to not think about him, it was gonna be a rather uneventful night in his head.

He climbed into his bed and, instead of his usually naughty dreams, he started thinking about plans of revenge and destroying Dhelmise.

 **000**

" **If I make it to the merge. Dhelmise is going to be the first one I get rid of…" Incineroar growled.**

 **000**

Bewear was sleeping in his room, all of the lights off. After getting blind due to Mudsdale's persistence, he decided to cut her off and just stop talking to her for a while. He still liked her, but the sex was getting out of control. She wanted him every waking moment, and he was no longer up for it.

As he slept, he heard harsh banging on his door, causing his eyes to pop open. He had a feeling that it was Mudsdale. He didn't want her to come in; he just wanted to sleep. The banging got louder and harsher, so he knew that she was close to breaking his door down. He quickly got out of his bed and ran into his bathroom, closing the door and locking it before getting into the tub and drawing the curtains forward to hide himself.

 **-000-**

The door broke down and an agitated Mudsdale entered, panted. She used her muzzle to turn on the lights before heading forward and looking at his bed. Growling, she looked at the covers and started sniffing around for him.

Bewear had been avoiding her since Monday. He locked her out of his room and just ignored her presence for that past two and a half days. Not this time. The smell of Bewear lead her to his bathroom. She glared, knowing that it was likely locked.

She immediately turned around and used High Horsepower, knocking it down immediately. "Bewear…" she said, holding in her anger. She looked around and didn't see him anywhere. She turned to the bathtub curtain and used her teeth to yank the curtain down. Bewear wasn't there. She rose a brow. She already checked the seventh floor, but he wasn't there. She was confused.

She sighed before exiting his room. As soon as she left, Bewear appeared from a rotating wall, looking extremely confused himself. He had no idea how that even happened. It was like as soon as he sat down and laid his head against the wall, the wall spun around and he saw nothing but darkness.

He was relieved that Mudsdale was gone, though. However, there was the possibility of her coming back. Bewear sighed before stepping out of the bathroom and going to his bed. Instead of getting in, however, he grabbed his pillow and a sheet.

 **000**

" **Maybe I should've just let Muddy hate me…" Bewear said.**

 **000**

Hours passed. Pyukumuku was in his room, actually sound asleep for once. He actually ended up waking himself up a few times in readiness. When it never came, he found himself unable to fall back asleep.

He sighed. The little guy didn't know if he should actually fall asleep here, or just go to the seventh floor and sleep there. He wasn't that good at starting conversations, as he always came off as awkward and the responses he got from others ranged from unsurety or annoyance. This was the same case back at home and in school. He could never really make friends.

He was either ignored, no one knew he existed, or he he was deemed too awkward for most people. He always tried his hardest, but it never worked. He'd even unintentionally made enemies with the hot chicks with big butts and some of the jocks at his school because he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Here, Bewear was the only one who frequently talked to him. Passimian talked to him sometimes, but he got eliminated, so it was really only Bewear now. He knew that others frequented the seventh floor, so he was actually becoming okay with Bewear taking him. He was a bit nervous this time around though. Bewear hadn't gotten him early in the morning in a while because of Mudsdale, so he had to just go to the seventh floor himself and talk to Passimian and whoever else came up by chance. He was happy on Monday, because he was finally able to interact with him a bit more, and it was even better because Tuesday morning was when him breaking in started again. Now, it stopped again, and with Passimian gone, he had nothing.

He decided to try and watch some television to try and fall asleep, so he turned on the TV, and put it on Cake Wars. A few seconds later, he was fast asleep.

 **000**

" **My therapist says I have issues, but I'm not a comic…" Pyukumuku said.**

 **000**

The time was 12 AM, and Togedemaru was heading to the buffet area for a midnight snack. When she entered the buffet area, she was extremely surprised to see Drampa sitting at _her_ table in _her_ chair, which irked her. This bastard made her shower with him, acted like a perv for most of the competition, and now was sitting in her chair at her table? It was about time for him to go.

 **000**

" **Hey, if you think I'm petty for wanting him gone now just because he's in my seat, that's fine. He's had it coming from the very beginning though, don't you fucking forget it…" she growled.**

 **000**

Togedemaru grabbed two banana popsicles from the mini-freezer before heading back up to her own room. She didn't want to talk to him; he served his purpose to her in the last challenge by helping her oust Passimian. Now, he was next.

Drampa didn't hear her enter or leave. He just stared at the salt shaker on the table in front of him.

 **-000-**

 _Drampa, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, was initially staring at the salt shaker on the table in the prison lunchroom. When he went to court, his ex-wife's entire family testifies that he'd been abusing Axew and cheating on her for the past three months, when he had done absolutely nothing to harm either of them. The jury consisted of mostly women, so he was found guilty and sentenced to three years for something he didn't even do._

 _The looks of satisfaction on her family's face was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The sudden maliciousness was something he didn't understand. He hadn't done anything. Why was all of this happening to him all of a sudden. He just wanted to know why. He had no family at all. He was an only child; his parents were only children, and they died a couple of years prior to him even marrying the Haxorus._

 _Recalling all of the events caused him to become irritated and angry, but he kept it in, not wanting to get in trouble. While thinking, he was toning out everyone around him, which in this prison, Unova Penitentiary, was not good._

" _Hey bozo, you hear me talkin' to you…" a voice said._

 _Drampa ignored him for a few seconds and groaned before lifting his eyes to gaze at the Machamp before him with numerous tattoos on its arms._

" _What?" Drampa asked abrasively, not in the mood._

" _I said...hand over all of you food, before I kick your a-" it didn't even finish as Drampa threw his tray at the Machamp, inciting two Machoke, one with a face tattoo, and one with only half of his jumpsuit on, to grab a hold of him._

 _Drampa tried to shake them off, and wanted to use Thunderbolt to get them off, but the jumpsuits they were assigned to wear didn't allow them to use any type of moves for defense._

" _You just made a huge mistake buddy boy…" the Machamp said threateningly as the other inmates started egging him on. The Machamp struck Drampa in the face numerous times before going for the gut, followed by the neck._

 _Drampa groaned at the pain he was given and tried to fight them off aggressively. This was just one and a half of his three years and he was told that if he stayed out of trouble, he could be let out early! He didn't want this to happen, but the Machamp snapping him out of his self-reflection over a burnt Tamato Berry Sandwich and some Apricorn nuts agitated him._

 _Drampa's right eye was swollen and his nose was bleeding slightly as he eventually blacked out._

" _Take him to my room...that bitch needs to know his place…" the Machamp said seriously, wiping more food off of his face and wiping it on a Alolan Raticate next to him._

 _ **-000-**_

 _Drampa was eventually let out of jail, at his actual date due to the lunch altercation. He had absolutely nowhere to go, so he ended up staying at a friend's house in his basement. He tried to find work, but his criminal record completely screwed over any chance he had. He took casual walks around parks and other areas. Any time he saw a child, a burning hatred built up inside of him. That smug grin on his former step-son's face when he high-fived the Buneary in his bed ate at him._

 _He'd never physically harm a child. Mentally, however…that was a different story. A child aided in ruining his life, and he loved that child like his own, so it was the ultimate betrayal. So...now it was time for payback..._

 **000**

Drampa finally blinked after staring at that salt shaker for two whole hours. He yawned, but he knew he couldn't sleep. The shower with Togedemaru reminded him and his ex-wife unintentionally; he just wanted to traumatize Togedemaru, but now all of this was happening. He started reflecting on what he's done since that time. He's made himself look like a bigger criminal and has gotten on everyone's bad side over a grudge. That moment was partially the reason he volunteered to nearly kill himself with the fish in the last challenge.

The fact that only Lycanroc was willing to help him showed that no one cared about him; he knew that she didn't care for him either, but she was too nice to let him just die. He sighed; he didn't care anymore. If he ends up surviving another elimination, it'd be complete luck, but with the other three left, that wasn't going to be the case.

He decided that he'd been in that area for long enough before heading to his room.

 **000**

Seven hours passed

 **000**

Dhelmise yawned before making smacking sounds. He floated off of his nail before freezing in his tracks and groaning in annoyance. Incineroar was standing at the foot of his bed, arms folded with a menacing glare on his face.

"What are you, my annoyed wife?" Dhelmise questioned. "Why the hell are you in my room?"

"Oh no reason…" Incineroar said before picking up mattress and throwing it toward the window.

"Uh huh...you sure about that?" Dhelmise asked. "Cause it looks like you're still pissy that your little secret about being gay is out. Which again, was stupid to try to hide…"

"Who told you?!" Incineroar growled, grabbing the seaweed by the shank of his anchor.

"I plead the fifth…" Dhelmise said, unfazed.

Incineroar roared and threw him, which didn't do much because he floats, and proceeded to trash his room. He threw the couch into the TV, breaking the screen. He threw a lamp toward the Sea Creeper, which it just went through. "You realize that this isn't going to make yourself look any better, you know…"

Immediately, Incineroar stopped and growled before stomping over to Dhelmise with a death glare. "You...are dead…"

"Yes, that is factual information…" Dhelmise responded. "And you are a gay cat…"

Incineroar tried to punch him, only for it to go through him. This caused him to punch his wall, creating a dent.

"Ghost-type…"

Incineroar growled, his maw starting to spew flames. Seeing this, Dhelmise rolled his eyes. "See ya…"

He phased through the ground, leaving Incineroar alone in the ghost's trashed room. He huffed before heading out of it.

 **000**

" **Remember guys...a hot pussy isn't always good pussy…" Dhelmise quipped.**

 **000**

The sun shined through ripped drapes, hitting Hakamo-o's face; after a while, she woke up and found herself on Oricorio's couch. Apparently, the three girls all ended up falling asleep in the bird's room. Looking around, she saw that the ceiling and walls had claw marks, the television was off of its post, and the couch she was laying on was shredded, with cushioning being everywhere.

Lycanroc was sprawled on the floor with the pizza box over her face. The box and the floor had claw marks as well, as well as Oricorio's bed. She looked at the clock, which was still intact, and saw that it was 9:13. She stretched before turning over and getting onto her feet, popping her back. "Damn, those couches are awful to sleep on…"

She smacked Lycanroc's thigh, causing the wolf to jump awake. She groaned, holding her head before sitting up. "Man...that was something…"

"I'll say…" Hakamo-o said, gesturing to Oricorio's destroyed room.

"Crap…" Lycanroc groaned, looking at the damage she caused. "Fuck me…"

"I'd rather not, but you're gonna have to explain it to-"

"WHAT IN ARCEUS' NAME?!" Oricorio, in her Sensu Style exclaimed upon seeing what was wrong with her room. "DAMMIT LYCANROC!"

"Sorry…" Lycanroc said, sheepishly.

Oricorio groaned. "Thanks...that makes it so much better…" she said sarcastically.

"I'd say you can trash my room in retaliation, but it wouldn't mean anything since it's already pretty wrecked…" Lycanroc explained.

Oricorio sighed. "You're lucky we're acquaintances…"

Hakamo-o and Lycanroc rolled their eyes, as they knew her other forms considered them actual friends. "Well, I'm not hungry…" Lycanroc said, still sitting on the floor.

"Hmm, considering that you ate five slices of pizza...I'm not surprised…" Hakamo-o replied with a giggle. A few seconds later, her own stomach growled.

"And on the other side of the spectrum, you only ate that one slice…" Lycanroc chuckled, patting Hakamo-o's stomach as she stood up.

"Well, I'm going down for a bite…" Hakamo-o said as she headed to the door.

"I guess I'll come down, too considering that my room is wrecked…" Oricorio said, passing an irked glance to Lycanroc, who sighed. She then followed Hakamo-o out, leaving Lycanroc alone.

The wolf sighed. "I said I was sorry…" she said to herself before following them out.

 **000**

Togedemaru was sitting closer to the food, abandoned her old table due to Drampa sitting there. It was actually a good thing, as now she didn't have to move as far to get more.

Dhelmise phased through the ceiling and floated down toward the food. He had just escaped from Incineroar's clutches and now had to possibly deal with Togedemaru. He went over to the fruit and grabbed a few Pinap Berries. Togedemaru watched him, but said nothing.

Feeling her eyes, he groaned. "Why are you staring at me?"

"None of your business, loser…" said Togedemaru, looking back down at her plate and eating a crust of a piece of a cream pie.

"It is my business because you're looking at me…" Dhelmise replied.

"Well ignore me…" Togedemaru stated.

Dhelmise huffed. "Gladly…" he said before he started floating away.

As he exited the room, he had to face the glares of Hakamo-o, Oricorio, and Lycanroc. He didn't react, but he knew they were glaring.

 **000**

" **Will these people ever get over themselves? Seriously, it didn't mean shit!" Dhelmise exclaimed.**

 **000**

Pyukumuku hopped out of the bathtub and headed to the door. He wanted to just go see if Bewear wanted to do something before they were possibly called down. He hadn't approached anyone in their room before, so he was a bit nervous.

He noticed that his door was knocked down, so he was a bit skeptical as to what happened. He went into the room and saw the bear exiting his bathroom after flushing the toilet.

He accidentally stepped on his back, causing him a bit of pain. He lifted his foot up and saw Pyukumuku looking up at him.

"Hi…" he waved.

Bewear waved back and picked him up before putting him on his head. "Why're you here? I thought you didn't like approaching people…"

"I'm trying…" he said. "Still a bit scary, though. I mean, I can talk to them, but just starting the conversation makes me feel weird."

"Okay…"

"CONTESTANTS! YOUR CHALLENGE BEGINS IN THIRTY MINUTES!" they heard from the speakers.

"So, what's been going on with you and Mudsdale?"

"I don't want talk about it…" Bewear replied.

"Oh…" he replied. "Um...well…"

The two remained in silence as Bewear strolled down the hallway with him still on his head. The two entered the elevator and Bewear hit the seventh floor button.

They went up exactly one floor before stopping. The elevator opened, and wouldn't you know it? Mudsdale was on the opposite side. Upon seeing Bewear, she tackled him, pinning him against the back wall with an angry glare.

"Bewear…"

Bewear walked forward while pushing her back, not saying a word. "No," he said sternly before going back into the elevator. Mudsdale blinked, unsure about what just transpired.

She growled and charged back at the elevator as Bewear held the 'close door' button. The elevator doors closed causing her to nearly break through the elevator doors.

She was able to stop herself and growled.

 **000**

" **WHY WON'T HE TALK TO ME?!" Mudsdale blustered furiously. "If it's about the blindness thing, he needs to get over it! A girl has needs!"**

" **Wow...I sound like a bitch…" Mudsdale said, disappointedly. "What's going on?!" she exclaimed angrily.**

 **000**

Bewear and Pyukumuku made it to the seventh floor, with Pyukumuku being a bit confused as to what was going on between Bewear and Mudsdale. He knew that they had some sort of sexual relationship, but it was strange for Bewear to push her away after practically obsessing about her when they first got there.

Bewear walked over to the weights, putting the Sea Cucumber Pokemon on the weight stand. "Um...Bewear? What's going on with you and Mudsdale?"

Bewear turned to him. "Muddy is needy and it's exhausting", he replied. "It was fun. But then it started getting too much, then I ended up getting blind. I don't wanna do it anymore. I want break, but Muddy is persistent…"

"Oh...you experienced vasoconstriction…" Pyukumuku explained rather smartly. "Strenuous activity made your blood vessels constrict and made your blood pressure rise. The constriction made you blind…"

Bewear was confused as to how he knew that. "Are you a doctor?"

"Nope", Pyukumuku said cheerily. "When you've got no friends but ample access to technology, you Sliggoogle things…and other weird things pop up."

"Sounds depressing…" Bewear replied.

"It is…" Pyukumuku said with his same tone, though this time it was a bit sadder. "But...it happens…"

Bewear prepared to grab a weight, but his stomach rumbled, stopping him. He sighed.

"Ya hungry?"

In response, Bewear picked him up, placed him on his head, and went back to the elevator. One of the sets of doors opened, revealing Mudsdale. The other elevator doors opened and they entered as Mudsdale exited her elevator. She saw them go into that elevator and entered it with them before the doors closed.

" _Oh boy…_ " Pyukumuku thought to himself.

 **000**

Drampa returned to the buffet area in order to grab a few bananas before heading to the lobby. He saw Togedemaru there and looked down. All of his reminiscing made him feel like the scum of the earth, so he decided to apologize. He had a feeling that she wouldn't accept it, but at least he'd feel better about himself.

He slithered up to the Roly-Poly Pokemon, who glared at him as he came up. "Look, I...I just want to say that I'm sorry about the shower thing and...whatever else I did that may have disturbed you and the others. I know you're probably not gonna accept it, but I just wanted you to know…" he said before slithering toward the fruit.

Togedemaru was confused. Had he just _apologized_? That didn't help anything. She was still gonna get rid of him next.

She looked at the clock above the door and saw that it was 9:54. She stood up and started heading out. Shortly after, Drampa followed.

 **000**

Solgaleo waited for all of the competitors to come down. When they were all there, he put on a fake smirk.

"Alright, now that you're all here, let's head to the ferry", said Solgaleo.

"What's the point of us riding the ferry if you can just teleport us?" asked Dhelmise.

"WHY do you insist on fucking with our fun!?" Oricorio exclaimed.

"Practicality…"

"Fuck that!"

"Well, why don't YOU just phase out of here and teleport yourself to Melemele…" Solgaleo suggested. "The rest of us are going by the ferry…"

When given the option, Dhelmise remained quiet.

"Exactly…" Solgaleo replied. "Now, come on…"

They all left the hotel and headed down to the ferry terminal. Once they got there, so did the ferry.

"Right on time…" Solgaleo commented as the ferry stopped at the end of the road and lowered the ramp.

Before the contestants got a chance to walk forward, they found themselves being grabbed and injected with needles by Grumpigs.

They then teleported away, leaving all of the competitors groggy.

"What the...hell was th-" Hakamo-o couldn't finish as she dropped, followed by the others.

Solgaleo chuckled before shaking his head. "This should be interesting…"

 **000**

Oricorio woke up in a dimly lit room. She was chained to a table in the center of the room, with a metal headband with numerous nails around it on her head.

"What the heck is this?!" she exclaimed. As she tried to get her chains off. She knew using Flying-type moves would be futile since they were most likely steel. "What the hell is happening?!"

Little did she know, every other contestants was in a predicament of his or her own.

 **000**

Lycanroc had on a collar attached to a chain that led to a large snow blower.

 **000**

Hakamo-o had a noose around her neck as she stood on a completely paneled floor.

 **000**

Pyukumuku was superglued to the front of a conveyor belt with a crushing mechanism on the top and at the very end of it.

 **000**

Dhelmise had ghost-resistant chains around his body as he floated on a rectangular figure.

 **000**

Bewear and Mudsdale were in the same box, much to Mudsdale's happiness and Bewear's dismay. Bewear had on a metal helmet that rendered him unable to see, while Mudsdale had on something that resembled a metal diaper.

They were on opposing sides of the room, and Mudsdale was shackled where she was standing, so she couldn't move. The floor was practically nonexistent, with planks lined across that led to different parts of the room.

 **000**

Incineroar was attached to a machine that had two sets of spikes on either side of his body. His arms were encased in cement, rendering them useless.

There was also a television across from him that had wires that led to the machine.

"Fuck me…"

 **000**

Togedemaru was strapped to a chair, unable to move or even rip the strap with her spikes. She was sitting at a table with a large plate in front of her. There was a cover over it, though, so she didn't know what was underneath it.

 **000**

Drampa was strapped to a machine that had his neck, head, body, arms, and tail separated by braces. There was sharp needles in each part, causing him to become extremely anxious.

000

"CONTESTANTS! WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST CHALLENGE!" they all heard from inside their rooms, thanks to speakers that were hanging in corners.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, YOU PSYCHO?!" Dhelmise exclaimed from his room.

"I WAS ABOUT TO EXPLAIN THAT DHELMISE, SO SHUT IT!" Solgaleo exclaimed. "NOW, AFTER SEEING THE SAW SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY, I DECIDED TO DEDICATE THE FIRST CHALLENGE TO THAT."

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Mudsdale exclaimed from her and Bewear's room. "THOSE KINDS OF THINGS ARE DEADLY!"

"Don't worry, we don't wanna be sued, so you won't be SEVERELY injured…"

"But we still get injured, though...great…" Incineroar muttered from his room.

"NOW, LIKE THE SAW SERIES, YOU ARE ALL IN YOUR OWN TRAPS BECAUSE YOU EACH HAVE YOUR OWN PERSONAL ISSUES AND YOUR GOAL IS TO, WELL, ESCAPE!"

"Obviously…" Togedemaru muttered, rolling her eyes.

"INSIDE OF EACH ROOM IS A TAPE RECORDER THAT WILL START PLAYING WHEN THE CHALLENGE BEGINS! DO YOUR BEST TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND DON'T LET YOUR PERSONAL GREED OR ANYTHING HINDER YOU. THE FIRST TEAM WHO GETS ALL OF THEIR PLAYERS FREE FROM THEIR TRAPS WILL WIN THE ADVANTAGE IN THE SECOND CHALLENGE!"

"Wait, what happens if we fail?!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"EVERYTHING RESETS AND YOU MUST GO THROUGH IT AGAIN! SOME OF YOUR TRAPS ARE EXTREMELY PAINFUL, TOO, SO TRY YOUR BEST BECAUSE THE CHALLENGE BEGINS...NOW!"

 **000**

" _Hello Pyukumuku…"_ a voice sounding like a hoarse Solgaleo started from the tape recorder. " _I wanna play a game…"_

"Um...okay", Pyukumuku replied. "What kind of-"

" _You are here because of your pushover personality and all around joy towards everything perceived as sad and dangerous. Your lack of a backbone renders you incapable of expressing your true emotions and feelings…so we're gonna see if this little experience helps you out..."_

" _As you can see, there are levers on either side of your conveyor belt. One increases the speed of the conveyor belt...the other stops it. But, there's a catch. Both levers are electrified, and it takes ten whole seconds for it to fully make its way across. You'd better pick wisely or risk being crushed under the weight of your persona."_

Pyukumuku looked confused.

" _It starts now."_

Suddenly, the conveyor belt began rolling and the crushing mechanism began. His eyes widened. He looked at the two levers back and forth before grabbing the one to the left. 10,000 volts of electricity coursed through him upon him grasping the lever.

After ten seconds, the lever moved and the conveyor belt stopped. He looked around and attempted to move; looking down, he saw that the glue was gone.

"Hooray!"

 **000**

"WHAT?!" Solgaleo roared, watching the footage. "That literally took no time at all for him!"

"Well sir, he did say that he high pain tolerance in his audition…" an Alolan Rattata intern said.

Solgaleo groaned as he saw Pyukumuku hop to the door in his room.

 **000**

" _Hello Mudsdale...Bewear…"_ the same voice spoke in the tape recording. " _I wanna play a game. You twos sexual activity has given you poor reputations from viewers...and the pure amount that you take part in is truly sickening, so sickening that Bewear was blinded by it…"_

Mudsdale looked down before looking at Bewear, who was looking around, the helmet covering his face.

" _You started strong, but became overshadowed by lust for Bewear after he sexually assaulted you…"_ the tape continued. " _This is the time for you to regain control. On Bewear's head is a helmet that renders his sight useless, and around your hindquarters is a makeshift chastity belt."_

Mudsdale looked back at the diaper-like contraption in shock.

" _The belt has a very interesting function. It vibrates...so the wearer still gets a bit of pleasure from it…"_

"What the hell?!"

" _In front of you, you see planks and under the planks...is a pit of bear traps. To the right of you, the planks lead to a box with a key inside. This key unlocks your shackles and frees you. To the left, you see a condom box and another key. This key...unlocks your chastity belt…"_

Mudsdale's eyes widened upon hearing that and she got a bit excited.

" _The final plank leads to you. You are in control. Which path do you guide him toward? You have five minutes to complete this and get out before both of you are dropped into the pit…"_

Mudsdale's eyes widened.

" _So which is it? Your lust...or your freedom? Choose wisely…"_

The time, which suddenly appeared on the wall, began counting down.

"Oh shit!"

 **000**

" _Hello Lycanroc…"_ the she wolf heard. She looked to the left wall and saw a tape recorder taped to the wall. " _I wanna play a game…"_

"Yeah yeah...I already know about the movies…" Lycanroc started as the tape continued, starting to yank on her chain and stare at the blades of the snow blower.

" _...your wild nature and voluptuous actions cause you to be seen as a slut. Sluts like to grind, right?"_

"Hardy har har…" Lycanroc said, rolling her eyes with a smile as she walked to the tape recorder with her arms folded.

" _Your goal? To the right of you…"_

A light shined to her right, and she turned around to see it.

There was a pit. Going over to it, she looked inside and saw numerous pieces of broken glass.

" _...is a pit filled with glass. The key to unlock your collar is somewhere inside of that pit. You will have 3 minutes to look inside before the chain around your neck drags you into the blades…"_

Lycanroc groaned as she raked her mane back in nervousness.

" _Live or be injured...your choice…"_

A clock appeared, with the three minutes already ticking down.

"Fuck me!" she exclaimed. She looked down at the glass pit and back at the clock before taking in a breath. She sat down and dangled her legs into the pit before slowly lowering herself inside.

She stepped on the glass, wincing as she had to dig through the jagged pieces to find the key. The chain was fairly loose at the moment, but she knew that she needed to be fast to avoid having to go through all of this again. The glass already felt awful, and she knew that the blades were going to be worse.

She started digging more and more as the time ticked down, cutting her paws and knees in the process. The cuts weren't _that_ deep at first, but as she went deeper from throwing glass around, things started to actually hurt.

The chain was being tugged by the rotating blades, starting to actually pull her back upon the clock reaching 2 minutes. She continued trying to search through the glass as was pulled to the side of the pit and dragged up and out of it.

"Fuck!" she exclaimed as she picked up a piece of nearby glass and attempted to use it to unhook the chain. It didn't work, and she threw it back angrily as she tried to use her claws to scratch at it, to no avail.

The texture of the chain was very rusty, so she was a bit surprised that it was dragging her without the breaking from the blades. She suddenly got an idea as the clock reached 1 minute. She spun herself around and started clawing at the chain, trying to break it.

She tried this earlier, but it still didn't work. She tried using Crunch, but it didn't really work. She growled, frantically trying to get the collar off.

The time eventually reached zero and she was pulled into the blower, with it trimming her mane a bit. She groaned in annoyance.

A bright flash enveloped the room and she found herself back at the pit. She looked back at the clock and saw it going down.

"FUCK!"

 **000**

Instead of a tape recorder, the television connected to the machine Incineroar flickered on. A creepy Solgaleo puppet was seen before slowly turning to him.

" _Hello Incineroar...I wanna play a game…"_

Incineroar was growling as he tried to break out of the machine, but he soon realized that it was no use. He'd just watched one of the movies last night, so he decided to just stop struggling and wait for it to finish.

" _Your need to hide your sexuality tells me that you are afraid of revealing your true nature to others. You rely on deceit to get through life...so now you will have to be truthful and open if you'd like to be free…"_

Incineroar rolled his eyes. There were always overly complex or stupid reasons.

" _The machine that you are attached to is also attached to the television. You will be asked ten questions and you are to answer truthfully. This machine can tell when you are telling the truth due to your real nature being mentioned in your television has vocal recognition and has been programmed with all of the correct answers…"_ it continued. _"Answer falsely, and the spikes around your body will come closer, eventually stabbing your sides. Answer truthfully and the concrete around your hands will loosen."_

Incineroar looked at his hands.

" _But...it will not be over so soon...because once your hands are free…"_

A plastic box full of a mixture of a yellowish-white liquid was risen in front of him. The odor immediately gave away what it was for him and his eyes widened.

" _Your lust for your partner has also played a part in your deception. If you want to be completely free, you will need to stick your arms into this box filled with semen and urine from numerous, willing donors. There is a key somewhere inside, but you must be careful, as there are also razor blades near the bottom. Be wary. Your freedom is in your hands…_

The television immediately showed static before a black screen appeared with blood red letters on the screen. " _What would you do if someone were to flirt with your fiance?"_

"Tear them apart…" Incineroar said matter-of-factly.

A green check mark appeared and he felt his hands gain a bit more freedom. He looked at the goop in front of him and gulped in nervousness. The next question appeared with the same setup.

" _You were once given a necklace by a friend as a gift. The next time you saw them, you no longer had it, but you told them that you still had it with such confidence. What did you do with that necklace?"_

Incineroar growled. He wanted to say, but he knew that Lucario would be furious because it was _his_ friend's necklace. He figured that getting one wrong couldn't hurt.

"I...lost it…" he lied.

An X appeared on the screen and the spikes moved four inches closer to him. His eyes widened. They were literally just three feet away from him, so if he got eight more wrong, he would be getting punctured.

"Fuuuuck…" he groaned to himself.

The question remained the same, giving him another chance. He groaned. "Fine. I pawned it and used the money to buy...things…" he answered broadly with an annoyed expression, not wanting to mention anything too lewd.

A green check mark appeared on the screen, loosening his hands a bit more. The next question appeared.

" _When your neighbor's child kept egging your door and calling you and your fiance derogatory slurs, what did you do to him that led to him being sent away? When others asked, you said nothing...but we know that this isn't the case."_

Incineroar groaned. That was a year or two ago and he wanted to keep that a secret. The brat got what he deserved, after all.

He looked at the spikes at the sides of him and huffed. "I...threatened to crush his bones into dust and use his carcass as a hammock. Then he punched me in the gut; I wanted to strangle him, but I decided to just get back a different way. I broke into his house, set up a camera in his parent's room, and it recorded them having sex. I created a fake PornHub account in his name and I uploaded it. Then, I showed his parents…"

A green check mark appeared and it moved on to the next question and his hands loosened up more. The next question appeared.

" _You have deceived numerous women in your life out of pure neediness. How many times did you deceive yourself to keep a living arrangement?"_

Incineroar groaned.

 **000**

" _Hello Hakamo-o...I wanna play a game…"_

Hakamo-o groaned.

" _Your lack of a real social life and overly serious attitude causes you to isolate yourself from others. Here, you will learn to have fun...as your life depends on it…"_

" _The floor underneath you is composed of numerous tiles. The tiles glow when they're about to fall. You must quickly go over and step on them. The time they have before falling is five seconds, so be quick."_

Hakamo-o eyed the large floor nervously.

"This is impossible!"

" _The noose around your neck is there for a reason. If you cannot keep up with all of the falling tiles, you will be left hanging. You have three minutes...play or hang…"_

A clock appeared on the opposite wall of the room from the tape recorder.

"This is fucking ridiculous…" she said as she watched the clock tick down. She decided to just stay in the one place she was in until something came to her. As long as she had four-to-six good tiles to stand on, she'd be perfectly fine.

She remembered how stupid people were in these movies. She wasn't gonna fall for something this easy. She sighed in annoyance, folding her arms as she stood in place, waiting for a tile very close to her to start blinking.

Nothing of much interest happened as she just stood there, bored out of her mind, as none of the tiles nearest to her blinked and the others furthest from her did.

 **-000-**

"For crying out loud!" Solgaleo roared, turning to his interns with a glare. "Why didn't you set the trap up better?! There should have been a key or something! You coulda made the tiles drop and everything!"

"S-sir...you pre-recorded the tapes and told us to make everything according to that…"

"You could have made small changes and I could have re-recorded whichever one…"

"Oh…" the Alolan Rattata trailed off before looking back at the screens they were watching. "Hey, look, Togedemaru actually did her challenge…"

"Wait, what!?" Solgaleo exclaimed, looking back at the screen.

 **000**

Togedemaru sat in front of a now empty plate. She groaned, a red liquid around her mouth as she hiccuped.

 **-000-**

" _Hello Togedemaru...I wanna play a game…"_ the tape recorder said as Togedemaru held an unamused expression.

" _In front of you…"_ it continued as the plate in front of her was uncovered, revealed a large pile of what looked like internal organs. Intestines, livers, hearts, lungs, kidneys, every organ inside of a fully grown Pokemon was on that plate. Blood was all over the viscera as Togedemaru nearly gagged because of the smell. _"...a plate of the finest organs. You may notice that you can't move, as you are strapped into that chair, which is under lock and key. Well...that key...is inside one of these numerous organs."_

Togedemaru paled.

" _Your gluttony has brought you to this moment, and only it will be able to get you out. You must devour the organs on this plate, find the key, and unlock yourself before the chair you are attached to detonates...with you still attached."_

" _You have three minutes. Eat or die, your choice…"_

Togedemaru rolled her eyes before hearing the beeping of the detonator. The smell of the organs before her made her sick, but she knew that she needed to get out of there. Taking a deep breath she leaned forward and bit into one of the organs, a kidney to be exact. Taking a bit of it, she realized that the organs...actually tasted like real meat. The 'blood' tasted like Cheri Berries, but the consistency and odor was still that of blood.

She took a bite of the intestines and found that it tasted like normal meat as well, with the blood making it sweeter. She smiled.

 **-000-**

Togedemaru belched, throwing up a key. She used the key to unlock herself and rushed to the exit.

 **000**

" _Hello Dhelmise…"_ the tape recorder said. " _I wanna play a game…"_

Dhelmise huffed in annoyance.

" _Your snarkiness and lack of empathy for others fuel the fire that-"_

As it continued, Dhelmise finally noticed a key sitting right next to the chains he was bound to. He used Power Whip to grab it and started unlocking himself. As the tape continued, Dhelmise successfully finished unlocking himself and just started floating towards the exit.

 **000**

" **Idiotic…" Dhelmise said.**

 **000**

Drampa was whimpering as he was attached to the machine. He tried to move, but he simply could not.

" _Hello Drampa...I wanna play a game…"_

Drampa tried to move more, but he was just wasting his time. His straps weren't going anywhere and neither was he.

" _Your pedophilic actions and disgusting behavior and thoughts towards others have made you widely despised in every community you've become involved in. Such a sick male...he deserves...a sick trap."_

Drampa felt himself start tearing up, taking this as something real.

 **-000-**

 _Drampa was held down on a lunch table by Machoke and Gurdurr, a Bisharp and a Pawniard standing over him._

" _You think assaulting kids is pleasurable, huh...let's see how you feel NOW!" the Bisharp exclaimed as it stabbed Drampa in the arm, drawing blood._

 _The Pawniard then slashed at his side and the assault continued._

 **-000-**

Drampa had tears streaming down his face, his memories drowning out the task from the tape. "P-Please...I'm s-sorry…" he cried.

He suddenly felt the needles stab into the separate parts of his body. A burning sensation agitated his nerves, causing him to scream out in pain. He tried to get out of the straps, but couldn't as he continued to cry.

He didn't realize, however, the walls started closing in on him the more he screamed. Had he heard the tape, he'd know that he was going to be in a helpless state with an intense burning sensation overtaking his body. The more he screamed, the closer the walls got.

He saw the clock on the wall going down to 2:31 and looked to his sides to see the walls moving towards him. Seeing this and not knowing what he was supposed to do, he just continued to cry out as the walls got closer and closer until it reached the machine itself, cracking it a bit.

A flash of white enveloped the room, and Drampa sniffled in fright, actually peeing himself. The liquid dripped off of the machine he was strapped to, short circuiting the machine and letting him go.

Once he was free, he just sobbed into the ground. "I'm sorry...just...stop…"

 **000**

"Left! Forward! Right!" Mudsdale called out while trying to ignore the intense pleasure she was feeling from the vibrations of the makeshift chastity belt. She had to keep lifting one hind leg at a time at specific intervals whenever she felt her peak. She blushed like mad at this situation, actually getting angry from the embarrassment.

She was doing perfectly fine in the game until...Bewear forced himself on her. Ever since then, she'd been acting like a needy slut who needed it twenty-four seven. Granted, she acted that way back at home after she's had a good night with a guy, but this was ridiculous.

She whimpered momentarily before groaning in aggravation. "Bewear! I'm kicking your ass when this is over!"

"Okay…" Bewear replied, not really caring anymore. He was blind again and he was in the same room as her, hearing her moan and groan. He just wanted this challenge to be over.

Bewear made it to a turning point.

"Alright, feel to the left of you with your foot and shimmy across that plank until I tell you to stop."

Bewear nodded before easing his way across. The creaking of the planks made him a tad uneasy, but Mudsdale's sudden bluster for him to stop fixed it.

"Okay, now do the same for the next plank you feel with your foot."

Bewear moved his foot a bit forward, but felt nothing. He drew it back a bit and felt a plank heading in the opposite direction, but not by a lot.

He shimmied across that beam before hearing Mudsdale yell at him again.

"Alright, it's going forward for you again, so again, use your legs…"

Bewear felt the plank and shimmied across it, eventually reaching a case. Mudsdale looked back at the clock and saw that only two minutes remained.

"Crap!" she exclaimed. "Hurry up and get the key!"

Bewear didn't reply, but punched through the case to feel around for a key. He eventually picked it up before starting to rush back. He almost fell right into the pit.

"Okay Bewear...you should know what to do by now…"

Bewear rolled his eyes, which Mudsdale was unable to see, and started shimmying back. He nearly fell upon reaching the point where he turned.

"Okay, you're back on the middle planks, just shuffle over here, use your feet", she repeated yet again.

Bewear groaned as he just started walking where he thought it worked while using his feet. He strolled over to her, much to her amazement.

"Okay, you're here. We've got thirty seconds. Hurry up and unlock me!"

Bewear kneeled down, and instead of using the key, he used his brute strength to break each and every shackle.

The clock stopped and the planks were replaced by an actual floor.

"Yes!"

 **000**

The two of them came out, and saw numerous large black boxes on Hau'oli City's roads, with Solgaleo and a few others standing in front of the house near the Pokemon Center.

They headed over, with Bewear holding Mudsdale's tail to guide him.

"Alright...so that's four for the Solgaleos and three for the Lunalas", Solgaleo said as the two came over. "Let's see what happens…"

 **000**

Oricorio had been free of her chains ever since her tape recorder explained. Her time was already ticking down as she attempted to get a key out of a large trophy. Along with the chains, she had a bungee cord wrapped around her that was pulling her back. The table she was originally on had stood upright and grown spikes.

The trophy was on the opposite side of the room, which had numerous landmines around. She growled as she continued, dancing her way to the trophy, nearly blowing herself up in the process. She recalled the tape.

 **-000-**

" _Hello Oricorio...I wanna play a game…"_

" _You've pushed and put others down in order to propel yourself higher just so you never feel like a loser again…"_ the recorder said. " _But, this only makes you a greedy, unfair player. You're only working with a team correctly due to you actually needing them for once. Now, your need to win will be your saving grace…"_

" _Across the room from you is a trophy. Inside of that trophy, is a key that unlocks the device on your head, but there is also boiling kitchen grease inside as well. When the timer started, you will be freed, and you must make your way to the trophy and grab the key to unlock yourself before the nails in the headband around your scalp drive themselves into your skull. But, be careful, landmines cover the floor and there is a cord attached to you that will pull you back into the spikes that will appear on the table once you start."_

" _Live or die, Oricorio, let the game begin…"_

 **-000-**

Oricorio was growling as she watched the clock reach one minute. She made it to the trophy eventually, the bungee cord tugging her back hard. She grabbed the trophy, which toppled over,dumping the kitchen grease all over the ground, along with the key. Oricorio was scalded by the grease, squawking out in pain.

The clock ticked down from ten seconds. Oricorio, still in pain, panted as she reached for the key and tried unlocking herself from the headband.

Thanks to the grease, it was slippery and painful for her to move. However, she eventually got out of it and threw the headband down, accidentally setting off a landmine, which in turn caused the others to blow.

Explosions filled the room as she quickly flew to the exit.

 **000**

Incineroar was still trying to answer his questions. He was just on the eight one and the spikes were extremely close to his body now.

" _You find experiencing intense anger over the opinions of others_. _Is it true that you are insecure about yourself in general?"_

Incineroar was holding back tears from the previous questions already, now it seemed like the big guns were being rolled out.

"Y-Yes…" he replied.

A green check mark appeared on the screen and the ninth question appeared.

" _You seem to enjoy being put in your place and dominated, like how your father tried to control your mindset. Do you truly enjoy being the wife of your relationship...or are you deceiving the one that you love?"_

Incineroar blushed and clenched his fists. "I-I like being the wife…" he admitted. He liked being dominated and submissive, it was much more fun and pleasurable in his eyes. He knew that guys who considered themselves 'manly men' or 'real men' would try to strip him of his label as a male for saying that, but he didn't care. The non-sexual activities that he did with his fiance as well as the sexual ones, they were better than anything he's done or could have done with a female, no contest.

A green check mark appeared on the screen and the final question came on the screen. The last few questions were doozies, so he expected the last one to be much worse. Instead…

" _Do you enjoy pie?"_

After all of the questions regarding his life and the troubles he faced, the final question completely threw it all away. He growled furiously before just saying yes.

He was immediately released and dropped to the floor. He walked up to the TV and punched it, creating a hole.

 **000**

" **Fuck...everyone…"**

 **000**

Incineroar excited his box, which was directly in front of the house where the others were. "Solgaleo...I am going to destroy you!"

"Touch me and you're eliminated…"

Incineroar huffed and bared his teeth angrily.

"Be lucky that you just won this challenge for your team…"

"Wait, what? I did?!" Incineroar exclaimed.

"Yep. You're all here…" said Solgaleo.

Suddenly, Lycanroc came running up, panting. "I'm here…"

Incineroar chuckled at her, causing her to give him a look.

"A bit too late, wolfie…" Dhelmise said. "Their team just won!"

Hakamo-o growled. "These traps were bullshit!"

"Oh pipe down…" Togedemaru said before burping again. "It's not like you had to really do anything…"

Hakamo-o huffed.

"Alright, now that everyone's out. Let's move on to the next challenge", Solgaleo said.

"You're twisted…you know that?" asked Mudsdale, who had the belt off.

"Am not. There's plenty of other hosts much worse than us. You've got Mew and Victini, Keldeo and Genesect, the Legendary Beasts, even the some Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon have their own show and they're as bad as those others!"

The contestants exchanged looks.

"Exactly. Now, come on…"

 **000**

" **Considering I've seen the other shows, I can agree to that…" said Togedemaru. "These two are pansies…"**

 **000**

Everyone walked back, making it to Route 1. They waited at the entrance as Solgaleo started explaining the next challenge, the Alolan Rattata standing beside him.

"Alright, welcome to your next challenge…" said Solgaleo. "In this challenge, your goal is to take pictures of specific Pokemon. Each team will be assigned a list of Pokemon to find and snap pictures of. The first team to take all of the pictures and show them to me will win…"

"And before you ask, the intern is going to give you each a Rotom Pokedex. Don't worry, they don't talk", Solgaleo explained, seeing that Lycanroc was about to ask a question. "It'll show you your specific list, AND allow you to take pictures…"

"Uh huh, yeah, what's our advantage?" Togedemaru asked, not really caring about the win. It was Drampa's time to go, so she needed the team to lose.

"Your advantage…" Solgaleo started as a net launcher appeared. "This net launcher. That way, if you find a Pokemon that you need, you are able to stop it in its tracks."

Incineroar caught it as the Alolan Rattata tossed it toward him. He grinned.

"Alright, you guys have your assignments. Get out there and make it snappy!"

"That was awful…" Dhelmise stated.

"Like I give a damn", Solgaleo replied. "Just go!"

The contestants headed down Route 1; the Solgaleos headed to the Pokemon Research Lab; the Lunalas headed to Ten Carat Hill.

 **000**

"Alright, what are we supposed to catch?" asked Oricorio.

Hakamo-o looked at the list. "Apparently, we need to find a Toxapex, Corsola, Lycanroc, Pelipper, Sandygast, and Carbink, and Machoke…"

"Wonderful...three Water-types, two Rock-types, a Fighting-type, and a Ground-type…" Dhelmise said sarcastically. "Go on and snap a picture of Little Red Riding Howl here so we can move on to Ten Carat Hill…"

"Hey!" Lycanroc exclaimed with a glare.

"Why the hell would we move to Ten Carat Hill if we have three Water-types and we're actually NEAR the water?!" Oricorio asked, confused by the fellow ghost's suggestion.

"Because we have a chance to steal the other team's weapon and use it for ourselves if we decide to follow them", he explained easily.

The others exchanged looks. It was a good idea, but a bit impractical. They were near water now, why not just try to get the pictures now?

"Well, we're gonna stay here. It's not like other Pokemon are gonna be camera shy…" Hakamo-o said. "Why don't you just go and steal it for us if that's what you wanna do?"

Dhelmise floated there for a few seconds before vanishing.

"Right…"

 **000**

"Okay, so what do we got?" asked Incineroar, holding the net launcher over his shoulder as he, Drampa, Togedemaru, and Mudsdale trekked through the cave part of Ten Carat Hill.

"We need a Sableye, Golbat, Zweilous, Golduck, Boldore, Dragonite, and...Necrozma?" Togedemaru read, bewildered at the final two. "This is fucking rigged! How the hell are we gonna get Necrozma and Dragonite pictures?!"

"Maybe he has them set up so that it happens anyway…no matter how impossible it sounds..." Mudsdale assumed.

"If he does...yay. If not, oh well…" Incineroar said.

Drampa was just remaining silent. He knew that they didn't want his presence to be known, so he just decided to do whatever was necessary and see if they won or lost.

"So...what are we looking for first?" asked Incineroar.

"Whatever pops out in front of us…" Togedemaru replied unenthusiastically. "As long as we're able to catch them, we'll be fine…"

Dhelmise appeared in front of them. "Yoink…" he said, snatching the launcher from Incineroar's shoulder. He vanished shortly after.

Incineroar was seething. "THAT FUCKER!" he ran back toward the cave entrance, not willing to let Dhelmise screw them over. He'd be doing that himself.

"Well, I guess we just keep going…"

Suddenly, Drampa was hit by a beam of energy, sending him into the wall. Togedemaru and Mudsdale turned to the source, seeing a Boldore there.

"Perfect…"

 **000**

"Okay, so do you wanna do it now, or just wait until we've gotten everything else done?" asked Hakamo-o.

"I can wait…" Lycanroc said.

"So what are we getting a picture of first?" asked Pyukumuku.

"Well, whatever we see…" said Hakamo-o.

"Uh…" Bewear started pointing toward the water.

"What is it, simpleton?" asked Oricorio.

She, along with the other girls and Pyukumuku, turned to the water, only to see a Toxapex...about to devour a Corsola.

The girls gasped.

"Hurry, get the picture!" Lycanroc exclaimed as Hakamo-o aimed the camera at the scene, snapping the photo.

"Yes! We got it!" Oricorio exclaimed.

"You're damn right…" Dhelmise said, appearing with the net launcher.

"That was fast…" said Oricorio. "Good job…" she said as Bewear took the launcher.

"Uh huh…" Dhelmise started. "Did you handle the picture already?"

"No, she's gonna do it last…" Hakamo-o explained. "But we got two for the price of one thanks to-"

She turned back around and saw that the Corsola was gone, but smaller bits were there around the Toxapex, which was heading back into the water.

"Well...that's disturbing…" Pyukumuku said, having been watching the whole time.

"Aren't you supposed to ignore the disturbing things?"

"Character development…"

"Well that's a shit way to do it…" Dhelmise replied. "So, we just need four more pictures, barring Lycanroc…"

"Yep. And we can't split up since there's one camera and one launcher…"

"Well, what do we do to-"

"DHELMISE!" they heard.

They all turned and saw Incineroar running towards them with furious eyes.

"Oh great…" Dhelmise groaned. "Butthurt pussy has come to exact more revenge…"

"Well, you di-wait, MORE revenge?" Lycanroc queried.

"Yeah, Sherlock Homo decided to destroy my room this morning…"

"Hell, I would've done the same thing if you told my business on national TV…" Oricorio said.

"He clearly exposed that on his own way earlier. Why would he not?"

Incineroar made it to them and used Flamethrower, aiming it towards Dhelmise. However, the ghost vanished, causing it to hit Bewear, who still held the stolen launcher. He growled at the fact that he missed Dhelmise once again, but satisfied that he hit the one who had the net launcher.

"Give me that back…" Incineroar said, snatching the launcher back. "You're not fucking us over this time!"

"Oh come on. You guys still have Drampa on you guys' dumb team…" Hakamo-o reasoned. "Shouldn't you be trying to out him?"

"He hasn't done shit as of late…" Incineroar replied. "Therefore, your opinion is invalid…"

He slung the weapon over his shoulder once again and started heading back to Ten Carat Hill. He held onto it tight this time, not wanting to lose it again.

Dhelmise returned and let out a groan of annoyance. "It's always something…"

 **000**

Togedemaru had purposely failed at taking the pictures, even when the Pokemon were right in front of them. Mudsdale was growing tired of it, but she knew that she couldn't do anything herself and she didn't trust Drampa with a camera, so she decided to just deal with it. If they lost, they still got to eliminate Drampa, so even if they lost, it'd be a win.

The three of them reached the Farthest Hollow and entered the open area. Drampa decided to just speak to see what their replies would be.

"Shouldn't have we stayed in and continued trying to-"

"Quiet, you have no opinion…" Togedemaru said, making Drampa roll his eyes.

 **000**

" **I expected that…" Drampa said.**

 **000**

Incineroar found them all in the Farthest Hollow and frowned to himself. He didn't know why he wasted all of his time going back when he wanted to lose the challenge anyway. Nevertheless, he approached them.

"I'm back…" he said, coming up to them. "Did you get any good pictures when I was gone?"

"Nope...Togedemaru botched every one…"

"Hey, I'm not good at photos, okay!"

"Okay...and did you think about handing it off to Drampa at all?" asked Incineroar.

"You think we'd trust that bastard with a camera when he's walking behind us?"

"Making him get in front…" Incineroar said simply.

"Look, why are we even bothering with this?" asked Togedemaru. "We're gonna get rid of Drampa next anyway, so why not just get it over with…"

"Togedemaru!" Mudsdale exclaimed.

"Oh like it matters! He sucks! And since Passimian can't save him anymore, he should know that he's next to go…"

Drampa just remained silent.

 **-000-**

" _The wardens can't save you forever, boy…" a Conkeldurr said as he eyed Drampa, who was in his cell, alone, numerous scars and bruises over his body._

 _Drampa was ignoring him, lying on his stomach with tears in his eyes._

 **-000-**

"Fuck you…" he said.

"What?"

"You heard me...FUCK YOU!" Drampa roared angrily. "I apologized to you already and I feel bad, but I don't even care anymore!" he exclaimed, turning to the others. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry that I've offended you. I'm sorry that I've fucking creeped you out. I'm sorry that I've touched you and invaded your privacy! I'M SORRY FOR IT ALL!

"That doesn't really help your case…" Togedemaru said. "I mean, you obviously don't me-"

"I'm outta here…" Drampa said, not wanting to hear her as he slithered back into the cave.

Mudsdale and Incineroar exchanged looks of surprise at his sudden outburst.

"Pathetic…" Togedemaru continued. "All of that bullshit he pulled since he's been in this damn game and he expects an apology to fix everything?"

"Yeah, I can understand that, but I feel like something's wrong with him…" said Mudsdale.

"Of course there is. He's a pedo…" Incineroar replied.

"Other than that…"

"Why does it matter?" asked Togedemaru. "He leaves, everything's good again. So, I say we just kick back and relax until the other team wins…" she said, tossing the Pokedex.

"Uh...you realize that if we oust him, we're down to just three players on the team, right?" Mudsdale questioned. "I don't think that'll do us any good!"

"This coming from the chick who cost us a challenge because she wanted to fuck a member of the other team?"

"FYI, I no longer care about that jackass…" Mudsdale stated boldly. "That trap set me back on track. I cared WAY too much about being plowed instead of the actual challenges…"

"Good for you…" said Incineroar. "I know if my man was here, I'd be on him-"

"No more stuff about your man or whatever the hell you're dating," Togedemaru said, tired of the sexual talk that came from his mouth, as well from his interactions with Lycanroc. "I'm sick of you and wolf girl's sex and relationship talks in the morning!"

"What we talk about is our business and we can do what we want…" Incineroar growled. "Who are you to even tell me what to talk about?!"

"...we saw you drink semen in Monday's challenge," Togedemaru replied. "I'M A VICTIM!"

As the two continued arguing, Mudsdale groaned to herself.

 **000**

" **I stop craving sex...now those two are partially arguing about it...wonderful…" Mudsdale said, rolling her eyes.**

 **000**

"Alright Pyukumuku, just try to stay calm, okay...we need this picture…" said Hakamo-o, aiming the Rotom Pokedex.

Pyukumuku was currently surrounded by three Sandygast, who seemed to have risen from the opposite side of the route. The little guy made a mistake of venturing in that direction. "T-that's a bit easier said than done…"

Hakamo-o snapped the picture. "Alright, all done. Dhelmise?"

Dhelmise launched a Shadow Ball at them, knocking out all three Sandygast...as well as Pyukumuku.

"Oops…" he said nonchalantly as Bewear went over to pick him up and place him on his head.

"Okay, so now we just need the Carbink and Machoke, right?" asked Lycanroc.

"Excluding you, yes…" said Dhelmise before stifling a laugh and looking toward Oricorio, who was looking disturbed. "I still can't believe we got that lucky with that Pelipper…"

"DON'T SPEAK OF IT!"

"It grabbed Pyukumuku and tried to flirt with you…" Dhelmise laughed. "It was hilarious…"

"GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

"CONTESTANTS! REPORT BACK TO THE FRONT OF ROUTE 1."

"Don't tell me those fucks already won…" Hakamo-o growled.

 **000**

Everyone returned to the beginning of the route, where Drampa was next to Solgaleo.

"Why are we back here?" asked Lycanroc. "Did they win?"

"Of course not!" Solgaleo said. "The rest of the challenge is cancelled…"

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed as shouts of protest were heard.

Solgaleo roared, quieting them all down. "Calm the hell down. Were any of you even enjoying yourselves?"

"No…"

"Exactly…" Solgaleo replied.

"Why are the challenges cancelled?" asked Oricorio, a bit peeved. "I was flirted with by a flying toilet."

"Because Drampa here-"

Immediately, everyone groaned and glared at the dragon, who sighed and looked down.

"-is quitting…"

When Solgaleo finished, everyone stopped and their groans turned to cheers.

Drampa just kept looking down.

Pyukumuku, who regained consciousness, along with Bewear and Lycanroc, were the only ones not cheering.

"Why're you quitting?" asked Pyukumuku.

Drampa sniffled and looked back up, his eyes filled with tears. Togedemaru groaned. "Save your sob story for someone who cares…" she interrupted before he could even explain.

"Hey, I care!" Pyukumuku exclaimed, hopping off of Bewear's head.

He was the only one who hadn't really been a victim of Drampa's actions in any way, so he hadn't had a reason to develop the same level of hatred for the guy as the others.

"I...I just need to go", Drampa said. "Everything I've done here and everything that's happening is bringing up bad memories that I didn't think would reemerge. It's eating at me and I just don't want to be here anymore. No one here cares about me. I almost died Monday night and absolutely no one cared!"

"But Lycanroc saved you!" Pyukumuku replied.

"That doesn't mean she likes me…" Drampa said, looking directly at the wolf, still teary-eyed. Lycanroc avoided his gaze, not wanting to feel guilty. "She had something to help me and she's just nice."

"Well...I like you", Pyukumuku said cheerily. "Not in _that_ way, but yeah!"

"WHAT!?" everyone, barring Bewear, exclaimed.

"Pyukumuku, he's been fucking with all of us! He's a creep! He's a pedophile!" were some of the shouts from the others, which Pyukumuku ignored.

"T-Thank you, but I doubt that you'd really like someone like me with my reputation…"

"...don't down yourself…I've dealt with enough of that," Pyukumuku said.

Everyone was confused at where this was going.

"Uh...what are you talking about?" asked Togedemaru. "You're a cheerful cucumber that's oblivious to everything around you and lacks common sense."

Pyukumuku ignored her comment, but answered her question without even looking back at the group. "I had major depression for most of my life. I couldn't make friends, my parents were divorced, I was constantly getting overlooked, I was constantly stepped on, which didn't really hurt, but it was annoying...a lot was against me...but after numerous therapy sessions and medication, I'm much better!"

"Yep, being devoid of any feeling other than the basic happiness and now semi-sadness...that's totally better than depression…" Togedemaru said, as everyone except Pyukumuku and Drampa glared at her for making that statement. Mental illnesses were nothing to take lightly.

"So don't be like this. Maybe try to change yourself and see a therapist. It may help…" Pyukumuku suggested.

"I've tried it once already and it was shit. But...I guess I can try again…" he replied.

"There ya go!" Pyukumuku said cheerily. "Just try to get better he said, offering a fist to him.

Drampa looked at it before looking at his own arms warily and bumping it.

"Alright Drampa, since you can fly, feel free to take off", Solgaleo said. "The rest of us are heading back to the ferry…"

Drampa nodded, more tears streaming from his eyes. "And...all of you...I'm sorry. Take it as you will but...you need to know…"

And with that, he flew away…

Pyukumuku hopped back over to the group, where everyone looked at him with entirely new eyes. He used his hand to climb up Bewear and get back on his head.

"Okay...now _that_ was character development…" Dhelmise said.

"Shut it, Dhelmise…" Lycanroc said through grit teeth.

"Well, let's head back to the ferry terminal…" said Solgaleo as the contestants started walking, floating, or flying back.

Solgaleo stayed put in the meantime. "And there you have it. Drampa's finally gone. Isn't it great?! Nobody won due to that, but it was still great! What will Lunala put the contestants through next time? Find out on the next episode of Total...Pokemon...Alola!" he said as he followed the competitors.

 **000**

 **Lots of stuff happened here. Uh...not sure how to really recap here. Drampa got eliminated. We learned a bit more about Pyukumuku, Incineroar's still pissed at Dhelmise. And...Bewear and Mudsdale are no longer a thing. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total…Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

 **Drampa sighed. "None of you probably care about what I say but...review, I guess…"**

 **000**

 **A Drampa was seen entering the scene. "Hey there. If you're looking for someone who's a real ladykiller and a man stealer, look no further!" he said in a flamboyant voice.**

" **Just kidding…" he said in his normal voice. "I just want to join to scope out the hot candy that may be on the islands. Oh, and the money, too, I guess. Pick me. You know you want to. I can guarantee views for ya…"**

 **000**


	7. Episode 7: Shiny Dancer

**BLARG!**

 **000**

It was Sunday afternoon; everyone was at the beach. They'd been celebrating ever since Drampa's elimination. Pyukumuku didn't really feel that it was right, but none of the others cared. The pervert was gone and that's all that mattered.

Hakamo-o was much more confident now. Both Passimian and Drampa caused her problems in one way or another, so with them gone, she felt much better. She was lying on a chair under an umbrella, like the last time they were at the beach.

Oricorio was on a chair next to her in her Pom Pom Style, and Bewear and Lycanroc were in the water playing volleyball...using Togedemaru as the ball. She didn't really mind this time around. Even if she didn't really vote him out, she was happy that she was able to put Drampa down enough to make him quit. It was really the stress and his memories, but she wanted to take credit for it.

Mudsdale was napping in the sand, Incineroar was building another sand fort, and Dhelmise was just spectating Bewear and Lycanroc's game.

 **000**

Pyukumuku decided to stay back at the hotel, not willing to celebrate someone quitting the game due to their own mental instabilities. He knew where the others were coming from, but he just couldn't share their hatred. He was questioned numerous times once they came back on Friday about if he was okay, how long did he have to deal with it, etc. He didn't want to answer, but he was nice, so he didn't want to leave them high and dry.

He was in his room, watching reruns of Desperate Housewives. Ever since he got better, he rarely got sad, but the situation was making him uneasy and upset. The others were celebrating the breakdown and quitting of someone with obvious mental issues, and even when he apologized, they practically ignored it. It irked him to no end, but, he knew that confronting them about it wouldn't do anything. Thorough observation helped him realize how dense most of the others were.

He decided to let it go and just move on.

 **000**

"Zero, three, six, nine. Drampa's gone, a wonderful time!" Oricorio cheered.

"You're damn right…" Hakamo-o said, lowering her sunglasses (which she got from the shop). "But, I think we should head back in. It looks like it's about to rain…"

She looked back up and saw that Hakamo-o was right. The clouds were beginning to churn and turn to grey.

"I think you're right in that regard; hopefully it's light and not so hard…" Oricorio replied.

"Well, I don't wanna find out…" Hakamo-o said as she got off of the chair and started heading off.

Oricorio looked up at the sky, starting to hear rumbling, and followed Hakamo-o.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Incineroar asked, seeing the two get up. Suddenly, he felt something drip on his muzzle. Tasting it, he realized that it was water, which meant-

Rain began pouring down, soaking everyone as they quickly started heading back to the hotel.

 **000**

Pyukumuku, hearing the rain, decided to switch on the news to see what was going on.

" _-tered showers and thunderstorms are going to be stuck over Akala Island until approximately 11:43 tonight. Meanwhile-"_

"Well...looks like they all will be coming back soon…" Pyukumuku said, hearing the news. He turned the channel back to Desperate Housewives, but saw that the television was now frozen. He heard thunder outside and sighed. "Oh well…"

It was only 6:32, but he didn't really feel like talking to anyone and his television was glitching at the moment, so he decided to just sleep.

 **000**

Togedemaru was heading back to the buffet area, with Mudsdale in tow. After being used as a ball for about an hour, she felt nauseous and hungry. Mudsdale was hungry as well, but she also wanted to stay away from Bewear.

Being that they were the only girls on the team, Togedemaru gained an idea. If she could get Mudsdale to eliminate Incineroar the next time they lost a challenge, it'd be great! She just needed to figure out a way to trick her or convince her into doing so.

She jumped up onto the middle island, grabbing a plate before putting food from each section on it. Mudsdale, seeing this, was growing concerned. Togedemaru was eating way too much; every time she saw her outside of the challenge, she was here just stuffing her face.

"Uh...Togedemaru, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah", Togedemaru said, finishing up before hopping down. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked as she went to her new table.

"Well, you seem to just be...overeating and...it's not that healthy…" Mudsdale said, approaching her.

"Uh...you're talking about healthy, when you've been banging a retard for the past weeks?"

"Yeah, but I've actually stopped", Mudsdale replied, her eyes tightening in a glare. "You, on the other hand, have just continued to eat for no reason since the beginning…"

Togedemaru ignored her and just took a bite of a hamburger patty. She was already being annoyed by her.

"My stomach is a never-ending abyss that will never be filled…" Togedemaru replied. "I could say the same about your ass, but...that'd be rude since you've apparently stopped."

"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for you!" Mudsdale said. "Eating too much will cause you a lot of issues later on-"

Thunder boomed, startling them.

"Um...did you not hear me say never-ending abyss?" Togedemaru questioned, getting annoyed. "There's not gonna be any problems. Meanwhile, you could be pregnant right now."

Mudsdale growled. "You know what, fine. Eat yourself sick. I don't care anymore…"

"I never asked you to care…" Togedemaru replied as she watched Mudsdale exit. She huffed to herself, eating a bit of a jelly donut. "So much for convincing her…" she muttered. "Looks like I'll be asking Incineroar for help…"

 **000**

" **I wanted to get rid of Incineroar, but Mudsdale decided to act like a dumbass and question things that didn't need to be questioned…" Togedemaru said. "I guess I'll have have to talk with Incineroar and convince** _ **him**_ **to vote for Mudsdale. She's fucked over previous challenges anyway…"**

 **000**

"Another day, another moment of hanging out in here…" Lycanroc said, flopping on the edge of Oricorio's bed.

Hakamo-o giggled. "The fact that you destroyed part of her room and still feel comfortable is great…"

"Not to sound rude or have a twin, but why are always in my room, again?" Oricorio asked, landing on the headboard of her bed.

"Because Haka wants her room in one piece and my room is already in pieces…" Lycanroc replied. "Yours, thanks to me, is a good combination of the two."

"Pieces aren't really a good thing for me, maybe the seventh floor can be a source of glee…" Oricorio said, not wanting her room to be destroyed more if Lycanroc dozed off.

"Well, the seventh floor does have some good things…" said Lycanroc. "Well, technically just the video games…"

"Hey, the exercise equipment is good, too…" Hakamo-o said, folding her arms.

"Yeah...exercise isn't really my thing…" Lycanroc replied.

"Getting strong isn't your thing? That's weird to hear…" Hakamo-o said jokingly.

Lycanroc shrugged. "I'm not really one who cares for strength...just a good time."

"I assume that you both like my plan, so let's just go and-"

Thunder boomed and lightning crashed, causing the place to rumble a bit before the lights went out.

"Oh man…" Oricorio finished.

The lights came back on seconds later before turning right back off. It looked like a power outage.

"Well...this sucks…" said Lycanroc. "Let's just hurry up and get up there. Hopefully-"

"Lycanroc...the power's out. What makes you think that the elevators will work?" asked Hakamo-o.

"There are stairs, girl", Lycanroc, grabbing onto her shoulders. "We can still get up there…"

Hakamo-o rolled her eyes with a smile. "We're lucky that we still have a little bit of light from the-"

Suddenly, the lights turned back on, stopping her from finishing her statement. "Huh...that's queer…" she said as the thunder and lightning continued to make themselves known outside.

"Hey, who cares if it's weird. It's better than 'Hello darkness, my old friend'…" Lycanroc replied. Let's just get going…"

The three girls started heading out of Oricorio's room and toward the stairs. Even if the lights were on, they could still turn back off.

 **000**

Most of the girls in the Hall of Legends were in their Girls' Club, which was a new room made just for them to hang out and get away from the masculinity of the hall. Almost all of the girls were there, excluding the ones currently working on their shows. At the moment, the ones that were there, Latias, Zygarde, Suicune, Xerneas, Virizion, Kyogre, Azelf, Mesprit, Registeel, Articuno, Celebi, and Jirachi were watching the newbies' (a.k.a. Solgaleo and Lunala's) live-feed.

"I'm hoping that there's another girl winner here", said Articuno. "We have the numbers right now. That stupid Zorua didn't deserve to win on Keldeo's…"

"Don't even mention that bastard's name…" Suicune growled. "After all I've done for him, he starts fucking another male and I'm just supposed to let it go…"

"Aren't you fucking-"

"Don't even finish that. We're not fucking related…" Suicune said. "I don't know how many times we've got to explain that…"

"Well, let's just hope that another female _does_ win. We don't need the guys to rub it in our faces more…" said Virizion.

"Uh...I'm a bit concerned about that weather…" Latias said, seeing the power go on and off for the contestants.

"Hey, let them deal with it…" said Celebi.

"Yeah, Mew and Victini made them do challenges in the rain…" said Jirachi. "Not that big a deal…"

"Lunala!" Latias exclaimed, ignoring the two girls' explanations. This made the other girls growl.

"Do you always have to care about people who willingly sign up for these piece of shit shows?" Kyogre asked, annoyed at the Eon Pokemon's calling.

 **-000-**

Lunala, who was awake at this time, heard her name being called and groaned. She was currently busy talking with Yveltal in his room, but she knew that the calling probably wasn't going to end until she addressed it.

She sighed. "I'll be back…" she told Yveltal, who groaned in annoyance as she teleported away.

 **-000-**

Lunala teleported into the Girls' Club with a scowl. "Yeah?"

"Uh...you realize that the weather on Akala Island is pretty bad right now, right?" asked Latias.

"Okay...and…?"

"Well, are you still doing your challenge tomorrow, because it's supposed to rain tomorrow, too…" Latias said.

"Yes…" said Lunala. "Nothing's wrong with a little rain. It actually adds realism to the show. Most shows just have bright, sunny days and no real other elements...making them look fake."

"Uh...if you say so…" said Latias.

Lunala promptly vanished.

"That accomplished nothing…" said Mesprit.

"Shut up…"

 **000**

Incineroar was sitting in a bean bag chair, staring at the television, which was currently producing static. The lights were all off due to the storm, so this was their only source of actual light.

"They're heeeeeeeeeere…" he said jokingly, expecting a response, from Bewear, who was lifting weights behind him. No response.

He groaned. "Can't you just amuse me? Just for once?"

"I don't know what you were talking about, though…" Bewear replied.

Incineroar stared at him. He seriously hadn't seen _Poltergeist_? He groaned and just turned back around grumpily with his arms folded.

As thunder boomed again, he jumped in fear, clutching onto the bean bag chair next to the one he was on. He growled, withdrawing his claws from the seat.

Suddenly, the door swung open, causing Incineroar to jump again before he realized that it was just Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Oricorio coming up the stairs. He sighed in relief.

Immediately upon seeing Incineroar, Lycanroc leapt at him playfully, much to his amusement. Sure, he was pretty much gunning for everyone now, but he liked Lycanroc's attitude and playfulness. She was just so cute.

"So, what have you boys been doing up here?" asked Hakamo-o, folding her arms. "Nothing, I presume…"

"What was your first clue?" Incineroar asked patronizingly. "The lack of light, the static on the TV, or the fact that I'm literally just sitting here?"

"Well Bewear seems to be doing fine, he's getting his muscles extra divine…." Oricorio said, seeing that the bear was still lifting his weights as he came over.

"That's good. We need all the strength in the world if we're gonna keep winning this game…" said Hakamo-o before deciding to have a bit of fun with Incineroar, as she saw and heard him growl.

"Hey, you don't know what the next challenge is gonna be, so don't be acting like you guys are hot shit…" Incineroar said with a glare.

"Oh I'm sorry, but last time I checked, we won three challenges in a row so far…" Hakamo-o said teasingly. "Thus, dwindling your team's number of players. And I'd be worried if I were you. There's two girls left on your team, and if they decide to take advantage of it...you're gone."

"Hey, if they're dumb enough to do that, then they deserve what happens to them, because they damn sure won't be winning…" Incineroar said chortling. "Besides, larger numbers don't always guarantee instant wins…"

"We'll have to see about that, now won't we?" Hakamo-o said with a playful sneer.

Lycanroc and Oricorio exchanged glances.

 **000**

" **Okay...where did the sudden playfulness come from?" asked Lycanroc, giggling. "I like it. Let's see if she can actually have more fun and break out of the serious, take-no-prisoners attitude."**

 **000**

Dhelmise was in his room, which was back to normal due to him fixing everything. You know, ghost stuff. He had his television on so that he could have a bit of light from the static, as the lights in his room weren't working right.

He was trying to think of more material to use against the others. By now everyone was tired of the gay jokes with Incineroar, and Mudsdale and Bewear were up in the air already. So, he needed more information.

Sure, he could always just bounce back from comments like he usually does, but that would get old and eventually people would stop insulting him all together due to predictability. The only new info that he got from anyone was Pyukumuku's depression. And depression jokes aren't necessarily funny, just cruel.

He was currently thinking of things to say and 'writing' them down on a pad. He had the names of others underlined with certain things to say under them.

"Hmm...so if he ever grabs me again, I can say… _'Figures you like grabbing shafts'_..." he said to himself. "Yeah, that's good. Then if he gets mad, I can do the hot pussy bit again…"

He chuckled to himself as he wrote those down with a pen by levitating it. Thunder boomed again as his lights flickered again.

"Hmm...as a counter to someone calling me sad, I can just say, _'Pyukumuku's life'_ ", he said to himself. "A bit assholish, but Togedemaru tried to brush it off, so it can't be worse. And it's actually factual…"

He wrote down that joke as well, but was now drawing a blank. "Hmm...what else is there? Mudsdale's probably still aching from all of those times with Bewear, even though she's supposedly 'over him' now. I could use that…"

He came up with a few more jokes before finally thinking of nothing else; he started floating out of his room to see if interacting directly with others would give him more material.

 **000**

Mudsdale was heading to the seventh floor, not to check on Bewear, just to chill since she didn't want to just stay in her room alone while a storm was happening. Like the other girls, she didn't trust the elevators, so she was taking the stairs. Her over one ton body had been considered in everything for the hotel, so she was lucky that nothing broke on her.

She made it to the top, flinching every so often at the random thunder booming. She eventually made it to the room, where she saw Bewear, as usual, lifting weights.

Incineroar, surprisingly, was talking to the other girls on the opposite team. She hadn't really considered interacting with them that much, as she usually had Gumshoos or Bewear. Now that Gumshoos was gone and she was done with Bewear, she needed _some_ female interaction that WASN'T from Togedemaru. They were sitting in a circle as well, gaining her attention more.

"Uh...what are you guys doing?" she asked.

"Never have I ever…" Lycanroc said.

"Unfortunately…" Hakamo-o muttered. This was the result of her teasing, and now she was regretting it.

"Oh, well...can I join in?" she asked before thunder boomed again and lightning flashed as the emergency door finally closed. "I don't really have anyone else to talk to…"

"Sure. The more the merrier", said Oricorio. "Bewear are you sure that you're not gonna marry her?"

"I'm sure..." Bewear said boldly, noticing Mudsdale's glare. "I dunno how that even came up…"

"We're done with the 'coupling'", said Mudsdale. "The trap in the last challenge helped me realize that that bastard was controlling me with sex…"

"She says despite being the one all over me…" Bewear spoke up, while still lifting his weights.

"YOU KNEW HOW I'D GET, PRICK!" Mudsdale exclaimed angrily, making Bewear roll his eyes.

"Wow...that's the most emotion I've seen out of him…" Incineroar said, chuckling.

Mudsdale huffed before paying attention to the circle again. "So, have I missed anything good?"

"Not really…" said Lycanroc. "We're just about to start when you came up here…"

"Well, she can take my place…" said Hakamo-o, starting to rise up. "I don't wanna play anyway. I'd rather just lift weights…"

"Oh come on, Haka…"

"Nope…" she replied adamantly as she walked towards the weights.

Lycanroc sighed and rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the group. "Fine...spoil sport. So, who wants to go first?"

"Wait, so what's the point of the game?" Incineroar asked, having never played this before.

"Well, it's usually a drinking game at parties, but we don't really have anything, so it's just gonna be a get-to-know-more game. I say 'never have I ever' , and then whatever I say after, if you've done it, you'd have to drink, but like I said we don't have any drinks."

"Uh...can I get an example?" asked Incineroar.

"Uh, okay…" said Lycanroc. "Never have I ever...gone on a date with someone for money…"

The storm was no longer frightening or distracting any of them, either, so things began going by smoother. Oricorio and Mudsdale exchanged glances, while Incineroar still looked perplexed.

"Wait...so you DID go on a date with someone for money?"

"No…" said Lycanroc, facepalming. "You say something that people either think you yourself did or something that they might have done, then whoever did do it, say it…"

"...Why do I get the feeling that you're just gonna get personal and sexual?" asked Incineroar, seeing a glint in her eye.

"Come on, that's the fun of the game!" Lycanroc said enthusiastically. "It'll be boring just saying the generic stuff…"

"I'm not trying to expose my dirty laundry any more…" said Incineroar as he rose up. "Sorry…"

Lycanroc sighed. "Alright fine", she said, getting up as well. "What do you suppose we do, then?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to say anything too provocative. It'll get me riled up and I'm trying to keep my mind focused on the competition…" Incineroar explained as the storm continued making its presence known.

"Why don't we just play the quiet game?" asked Hakamo-o as she lifted a couple of dumbbells. "If you talk or make any noise before the storm calms the fuck down...you lose."

"So, the Sound of Silence, the game, pretty much?" Mudsdale said, raising a brow. "No thanks. I'd rather just go back down to my room if nothing's gonna happen up here…"

"Nothing's gonna happen down there either, woman…" Bewear said with a deadpan tone. "You're better off with company. You know you hate being alone when the weather's shit…"

Mudsdale, who was on her way out of the emergency door, growled. He was right, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing. Nevertheless, she re-entered the room and sat down, passing him an annoyed expression.

"...You sure you two are done with each other?" asked Oricorio. "Because it still seems like you care for one another…"

"No", they said simultaneously.

" _Which means yes…_ " Lycanroc whispered to Incineroar, who chuckled.

"So, quiet game?"

"No", all of them said at the same time, making Hakamo-o groan. Maybe she should have just stayed in her own room alone. She wasn't really bothered by the storm after all.

"Why would we stay quiet?" asked Incineroar. "So you can just listen to the storm and nothing else?"

Hakamo-o didn't respond; she just continued lifting her weights. They all remained in silence, despite not wanting to, for the next twenty minutes. They didn't have much to talk about and they weren't too concerned about what Pyukumuku, Dhelmise, or Togedemaru were doing.

Suddenly, Lycanroc yawned before rubbing her eyes. "Arceus dammit, will someone start a conversation or something? I'm starting to get tired…" she said, lying against Incineroar's warm chest.

"Well I suggest you get away from Incineroar before you tear him apart…" Hakamo-o said jokingly as she decided to stop lifting for a while and just sat down against the wall.

"Hardy-har-har…" Lycanroc replied before nuzzling more into his chest with a sigh. The tiger chuckled at this.

"Well...uh...what about the shows that we've all seen? Discussing strategies can't be that mean…" Oricorio said.

"Okay, are you doing the rhyming thing on purpose, or is it an impulse thing?" asked Mudsdale. "It's kinda getting annoying…"

Oricorio didn't reply as the thunder boomed.

"I'm taking a nap…" Incineroar said as he lied back a bit on the bean bag chair, letting Lycanroc stay against him.

"Hell, if there's nothing to do or say, we all might as well just sleep…" said Hakamo-o. "It'll pretty much just be the quiet game."

"Yes...at like 7 something…" Mudsdale replied. "That's an acceptable time to sleep for almost grown people…"

"Hey, there's a conversation topic", said Lycanroc. "How old is everyone here? I'm 19…"

"21…" Incineroar stated. "I told you already…"

"19", Mudsdale stated.

"19", Oricorio said.

Everyone turned to Hakamo-o and Bewear.

"19…" Bewear said, finally.

Hakamo-o groaned. "20…" she said, folding her arms. "There. Now that conversation's done."

"Birthdays?"

Hakamo-o facepalmed.

 **000**

" **I consider Lycanroc a friend, but I wish she'd learn to leave well enough alone…" Hakamo-o explained.**

 **000**

6 hours passed

 **000**

Everyone on the seventh floor had fallen asleep, aside from Bewear, who had decided to move on to the elliptical machines. He felt that his arms' strength was back and even better than it was, and decided to work on his legs.

The others had fallen asleep about an hour or so prior at the same time the storm subsided. He left the lights and TV off to allow them to continue sleeping.

It was approaching 1:15 AM and he was growing a bit tired himself. After about twenty more minutes, he joined the group and curled up, falling asleep with them.

Dhelmise, who had been invisible, saw and heard everything they talked about. Now, he had more than enough material to work with.

 **000**

 **Dhelmise yawned. "That storm was the best thing to happen here so far. Information galore!"**

 **000**

At 12:24 PM, everyone who had fallen asleep started to wake up, with Pyukumuku being one of the only ones up and awake in the vicinity. He wasn't even there with them the night prior.

"Ugh…" Hakamo-o groaned, rubbing her head before realizing that she wasn't in her bed. "Did I...did we just-"

She looked over and saw that the others were starting to get up. She groaned to herself. "We did…"

Lycanroc yawned with a slight whine coming out with it. She noticed that she was still lying against Incineroar's chest and blushed slightly before sitting up and brushing her mane slightly.

She then realized that she hadn't hacked at anything at the room was still in good condition. She was surprised.

"Why'd you all sleep up here?" asked Pyukumuku.

Mudsdale yawned as she got up. We came here because of the storm, and I guess we all ended up falling asleep at some point.

Bewear groaned as he lied on the ground face down before slowly getting up. Oricorio chirped a bit. "What time is it, if I may ask? I need to do my daily task…"

"It's almost 12:30…" Pyukumuu revealed.

"WHAT!?" they all exclaimed.

"Jeez...we slept a long time…" said Lycanroc as she started shaking Incineroar to wake him up.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat…" Hakamo-o said as she started heading to the elevator. "Hopefully Togedemaru hasn't eaten everything…"

 **000**

Togedemaru was snoring while halfway inside of an empty tub of ice cream. Not everything in the buffet area was gone, but most of it was.

Dhelmise floated into the buffet area for an afternoon snack and saw the carnage. Almost everything was gone and Togedemaru was passed out in an empty tub of ice cream.

He twitched. "REALLY!?"

His sudden bluster startled Togedemaru awake as her spikes rose, puncturing the tub of ice cream she was halfway inside of. Now it was stuck.

"DAMN IT! DHELMISE!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"What is wrong with you!?" the seaweed exclaimed in retaliation. "Why did you eat all of the food?! HOW did you eat it all?!"

"Hey, during thunderstorms, I eat a lot", she explained. "It sounds nonsensical, but deal with it…"

"DEAL WITH IT!?" Dhelmise exclaimed. "What're _we_ supposed to eat?!"

"Shoulda gotten here sooner. Not my problem…" Togedemaru said, still trying to get the tub off of herself. "Now...can you get this dumb tub off?"

"Not my problem…" Dhelmise retorted as he floated out of the buffet area, leaving Togedemaru alone.

"DAMN YOU!" she shouted as she heard the doors close.

 **-000-**

A few of the others were heading to the buffet area when then saw Dhelmise floating past. Seeing this, he smiled to himself, though it was mainly due to all of the personal information he procured last night. Luckily he didn't have a visible face.

"You guys headed to the buffet area?" he asked.

"Duh...it's the only room that's in this direction…" Hakamo-o replied, folding her arms.

"Well, you won't be eating anything considering tub girl in there ate everything…"

"WHAT?!" Mudsdale exclaimed.

 **-000-**

The two of them entered the area to see Togedemaru still struggling to get the empty ice cream tub off of her head. She growled before using Thunder, finally freeing herself by frying the tub off. Melted ice cream dripped down her head, which she licked off when it reached her mouth.

"Great...now I need a shower…" she said, looking herself.

"TOGEDEMARU!" she heard. She turned to them and saw Mudsdale and Hakamo-o glaring at her. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Don't start. The chefs will make more later…"

She started heading out of the room, uncaring about how they'd cope in the meantime.

Both girls growled.

 **000**

" **Okay...if I talk to Incineroar. Maybe I can convince him to vote for Togedemaru with me…" Mudsdale reasoned.**

 **000**

"What do you mean she ate all of the food?!" Incineroar roared as he and Lycanroc had come down to get something to eat as well, only to be told by Hakamo-o that Togedemaru ate everything. Oricorio went to her room, while Pyukumuku and Bewear remained on the top floor, so it didn't really matter to them at the time. "Someone that small shouldn't be able to everything in sight!"

"Well she did...now we have to wait until five for more food!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"I thought that it was just automatic…" Lycanroc said, confusedly.

"Apparently not…" she responded angrily. "They have paid chefs who cook everything fresh and keep everything fresh with heaters and they only cook at certain times, so we're practically fucked in the meantime…"

"So there aren't even any snacks left?"

"No. Mudsdale and I checked there as well…." Hakamo-o replied.

"Great...the gluttonous bitch has royally screwed us…" Incineroar growled. "I oughta go in her room and eat her ass…"

The girls gave him looks. Hakamo-o gave one of displeasure, while Lycanroc gave him a suggestive one.

"Wait, that came out wrong…"

"No...it came out the right way. It's just how _some_ people take it…" Hakamo-o said before her stomach rumbled. She growled.

Lycanroc giggled. "Hey, it was a funny thing to say, you have to admit…"

Hakamo-o sighed. "I'm going to my room. If I can't anything until five, I might as well nap or watch TV to kill time…"

"You could always just chill with the rest of us…" said Lycanroc, hopping onto Incineroar's back. "It's fun up there, you can't lie and say that it's not…"

"Okay...what if it's not a lie?" asked Hakamo-o. "Just sitting around talking about topics that don't interest me isn't fun to me…"

"And what _is_ fun to you, exactly?" Incineroar asked curiously, folding his arms. "Because you don't ever seem to have a smile on your face at any time…"

"Hey, I smile sometimes!"

"Not often…" Incineroar retorted. "No matter where you go or what we do, you have the same frown or nonchalant expression. And when you do smile, it's just because you've won a challenge…"

"Actually, I can vouch that she giggles and smiles around me and Oricorio. Not all the time, but it happens…" Lycanroc countered.

"Huh, well congrats, you have actual emotions…" Incineroar said condescendingly. "But you need to learn how to have a good time, because if you keep this pissy attitude, you're not gonna make it that far…"

"Is that a threat?"

Incineroar gave her a look. "Seriously? I'm literally trying to give you advance and you think I'm threatening you? You have serious issues…"

And with that, he started walking back toward the elevators, with Lycanroc hopping off of his back as he did.

The wolf turned to her friend, who wore the frown that Incineroar spoke of. Lycanroc sighed. "Haka. You were doing well. Actually coming to the beach with us, interacting with others, albeit slightly, you were cutting loose a bit. Why are you getting back so serious?"

"Lycanroc, I literally have nothing in common with anyone here. Why would I want to interact with them if I know damn well that they won't get me…?" she asked.

"That's because you kept yourself sheltered from everyone around you at your home; you just trained and nothing else. All because you were a girl that lost battles against other boys and got made fun of for it!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "You're just a tomboy! And guys at young ages am are gonna be immature fuckheads. You practically just shielded yourself from any fun you could have had because of what they thought of you and now you don't even know what to do. Now am I right or wrong?"

Hakamo-o rubbed an arm sheepishly. She hit the proverbial nail on the head; it sounded just like her life. Hakamo-o looked down in response and sighed.

Taking this as a yes, Lycanroc walked to her side and wrapped an arm around her. "You need to learn to let go. It's great that you're serious, but you don't have to be it all the time…"

Hakamo-o didn't reply and just continued looking down.

 **000**

" **The thing is that I don't ever know what to talk about anymore or I never find the same things amusing as others…" Hakamo-o explained. "I can't just change my humor and suddenly acquire knowledge about what they may talk about."**

" **I think I'll be fine just the way I am. I may be able to tweak myself just a bit and tone the seriousness down, but nothing much is gonna change."**

 **000**

Oricorio popped her back after hopping out of the shower. She shook her feathers a bit dry before wrapping herself in a towel.

She looked at herself in the mirror and saw her yellow face in her Pom-Pom Style. She looked to the side, grabbing one of her nectar charms. She grabbed the pink one and took a sip, changing her color and feathers.

She sighed. "Alright, Pa'u Style is all done. Just need to preen myself and I'll be fine…" she said, taking out a beak-like brush from one of the drawers. She started brushing her waist and head feathers before stopping. She sighed to herself. "Much better...the rhyming was annoying the hell out of me…"

She went back into her main room, which was still partially wrecked, and sighed to herself. "Note to self, keep Lycanroc from sleeping in here."

Now that she was getting close to the merge and the other team was losing players, Oricorio was starting to get extremely confident, but also nervous. She was happy that the amount of people was dwindling, but out of everyone who was eliminated, the only one who actually posed any kind of threat, to her, was Passimian. The others were just fodder, which made her groan.

She actually had good competition here, which wasn't good for her chances if she wanted to win. She'd need to weed them out somehow. There was a fair amount of threats on each team. Hakamo-o and Bewear on her team, and Incineroar and Mudsdale on the other.

Lycanroc was a friend, but she wasn't really a 'threat', well when she was awake anyway. Pyukumuku posed absolutely no threat given his personality. Dhelmise was just a prick, and Togedemaru was a fatass. Nothing to worry about at all there, so she'd have to try and ensure that they stay in.

She wasn't going to resort to cheating or anything, she was just gonna have to do a good amount of convincing.

"Hmm...actually…" she started. "Maybe I should keep Hakamo-o in longer; I like hanging out with her and Lycanroc….damn it! Friendship makes everything so difficult to do!"

She sighed to herself. "Okay, maybe if we lose tonight's challenge, I can convince the girls to get rid of Bewear due to his probable future performance…"

 **000**

" **I need to win this...I DESERVE to win this. Passimian's the only threat gone so far, and it's fucking irritating and making me anxious!" Oricorio exclaimed. "Bewear's gonna need to go next. He just needs to…"**

 **000**

Entei...get out of my room!" Solgaleo exclaimed as Entei lied on the larger lion's bed.

"No thanks...I actually like it in here…" Entei replied, crawling up to him.

"WHY?!" Solgaleo questioned. "It's a standard fucking room! I barely even have anything in here other than a space poster!"

"Well...you're in here...that's something~" Entei said flirtatiously.

"Haven't you had sex with Raikou and Suicune already? And that one time with Heatran and Terrakion?" Solgaleo questioned, not enjoying the Volcano Pokemon's company.

"Yeah, so?" he asked, getting closer. "It wasn't anything major…"

"Uh...I don't see why're coming onto me so hard!" he exclaimed as he got off of his large bed and started heading out. Maybe he could get him away in the presence of other guys.

"Well...that cute butt of yours is one point…" he purred. "And the fact that you completely dominated me after our bet~"

"That was exactly it, though. A BET", Solgaleo shouted as he exited his room, with Entei running after him.

"Maybe...but I still loved it~"

Solgaleo groaned. " _Fuck my life…why can't it just be 6:00 PM already!?"_ he thought to himself upon looking at a clock, which . Suddenly, he gained an idea.

He looked down at Entei from the corner of his eye before starting to run. Seeing this, Entei purred with a smile. "And the chase starts again…" he said, licking his lips before chasing after the larger feline

 **-000-**

Solgaleo rushed to a door that was a blue and silver in color and started banging on it desperately. "DIALGA!"

He got no response, and he heard pawsteps heading in his direction. "Crap!"

He rushed away from the Temporal Pokemon's door and headed toward Palkia's door. He started banging on it as well. "PALKIA! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"

After a few seconds of tapping his front paws impatiently, the door opened slightly just as Entei caught up with him.

Solgaleo rushed inside and shut the door, sitting against it. He sighed in relief. "I know you're in there big boy. You're not that good at hiding~"

Solgaleo shuddered. "Fuck my life…"

"So...are you gonna explain why you're here or…"

Solgaleo opened his eyes and saw Palkia sitting in his rolling chair with his arms folded. "Oh, right…do you know where Dialga is?"

"Girls' Club…" he said simply. "Why, exactly?"

"I'm trying to speed today up. I'm bored and Lunala has to host the next challenge…" he explained.

"Uh...okay…" Palkia said. "Why not just watch TV with the other guys in the living room until six? They're doing some kind of movie marathon anyway…"

"Oh…" Solgaleo started. "Didn't know that. Well, never mind for the suggestion…"

"Uh huh…" said Palkia, rolling his eyes.

"Soooool~"

"Oh Arceus why…" Solgaleo groaned. "Well, I'm glad I can teleport at least…"

Entei started banging on the door. "PALKIA! YOU'D BETTER NOT BE DOING ANYTHING WITH HIM!"

"YOU KNOW I'M STRAIGHT!" Palkia shouted back. "Just get out of here…" he told Solgaleo.

Solgaleo teleported out of his room as his door opened. Entei saw that he was gone and growled. "Where is he?"

"Somewhere…" Palkia responded vaguely, turning back to his computer. "And if you try anything, you know the results…"

Entei growled before running back out of the room. Palkia shook his head in disapproval.

 **000**

5 hours later

 **000**

Solgaleo groggily made his way to his room. It was 6:11, eleven minutes past his scheduled rest time. He entered his room and saw Entei lying on his bed with a smile. He twitched.

"OUT!"

 **000**

Lunala had woken up at exactly 6 o'clock, much to her chagrin, and teleported to the hotel. "CONTESTANTS! COME ON DOWN TO THE LOBBY! IT'S CHALLENGE TIME!" she shouted over the microphone on the front desk.

She yawned to herself as she floated to the doors and floated there, waiting for them to come down.

 **-000-**

"Great...just when we actually get to eat…" said Hakamo-o as she and the others who went back to the buffet area continued to eat.

"Well, if we end up losing tonight's challenge, we won't have to worry about that anymore…" Mudsdale said. "Out of the three of us left on the team, Togedemaru's the most expendable anyway…"

In the doorway, Togedemaru heard what the Draft Horse said and smiled to herself. "Yeah...sure I am…"

"CONTESTANTS! BRING YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE!"

Upon hearing that, Togedemaru started heading to the elevators as the others put their plates away.

 **000**

" **If Mudsdale's gonna try to get rid of me, it's only fair that I get rid of her, right? Right…" Togedemaru asked rhetorically.**

 **000**

After a while, the nine remaining competitors made it down.

"About time. What took you so long?"

"Blame the rat", Dhelmise said, gesturing to Togedemaru. "Her greedy, fat ass ate all of the food and your chefs had to make a bunch more; we had to wait for more hours…"

"Dang it, Togedemaru! We pay them by how much you all eat! You're not supposed to eat every single thing! That's more we have to pay for, now!"

"Food is good", Togedemaru replied simply, not showing any remorse.

Lunala groaned. "Let's just head to your next location for the challenge…"

Lunala started floating out of the hotel, and the contestants started following her out. Upon stepping outside, the contestants felt an intense, cold breeze, signifying that it was going to rain again.

"Uh...it's supposed to rain again tonight", Pyukumuku spoke up.

"Wait, what?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "I don't wanna be caught in the rain!"

"Calm down. You all will be fine", Lunala replied. "Where we're going, you'll have some cover."

"Oh joy…that makes it _soo_ much better…" Togedemaru replied, rolling her eyes as they all continued walking.

 **000**

The contestants all made their way to Route 7, shivering from the cold breezes. They felt intense heat radiating from the west, where Wela Volcano Park was located, so a few of them stood closer to that area.

"Alright. Welcome to the main site for tonight's challenges!" Lunala announced, entering Full Moon Phase due to the gloominess of the day due to the clouds and the fact that it was night time. "The first challenge will be held in Wela Volcano Park, the second will be on the eastern part of this route", she explained, gesturing to the small, beachy area to the left of the route.

"Well, at least it's warm in the park. We'll actually have some comfort for a while until the challenge is over…" Mudsdale commented.

"Now, let's head up to the peak", said Lunala. "Be careful of the wild Pokemon, though…" she said, leading the way.

 **-000-**

"I never understood why some Pokemon are able to be feral and others are able to talk and be normal like us…" Oricorio said.

"They don't want to, so they don't learn. They're able to, they just choose not to…" Lunala replied. "At least that's what Arceus said…"

"Oh, well if 'God' said it, it's definitely true…" Dhelmise said in a snarky tone.

Immediately, a brick fell on his head. Since he wasn't prepared, he couldn't get out of the way like he usually would.

"HA!" Incineroar gloated.

"What the hell was that!?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, that happens…" Lunala replied. "Arceus watches the live feed sometimes and hates when people insult her in a way. She drops bricks when they do…"

"Gee, thanks for the heads up…"

"You're welcome…" Lunala replied. "Now, pick up the pace…"

 **-000-**

They all made it to the top of the volcano and saw a slope leading to a platform area. An Alolan Marowak and a Salazzle were seen standing there in wait.

Hakamo-o growled to herself upon seeing a Salazzle. The Passimian situation replayed in her mind, irritating her.

"And here we go…" said Lunala, approaching them. "Marowak, Salazzle, how are you two doing?"

"Fine…" the Marowak replied, its voice indicating that it was a male.

"Indeed…" the Salazzle said, one hand on her hip as she waved with the other.

"Hey, aren't you the same Salazzle that was in the Shady House challenge?" asked Togedemaru, noticing a familiar leopard print tattoo on its right thigh.

The Salazzle giggled. "I'm surprised that you remember me…"

"Hard to forget when you're having sex in a bed next to me…" Togedemaru said with an unamused tone and look.

"Yes, it's hard to forget you as well, you used some time of Electric-type move on me and stole back your team's Metal Coat…" she replied.

Mudsdale and Incineroar's eyes widened, as did Togedemaru's.

"I-I'm sorry…" Incineroar started, chuckling a bit angrily. "Could you repeat that? She did what now?"

"After the boy toy I used was knocked out, she got up and attacked me so that she could get the Metal Coat back…"

The tiger and horse glared down at the rodent. "So...you got back the Metal Coat, but you DIDN'T FUCKING SHOW IT?!"

"In my defense, we still would have lost!" Togedemaru replied.

"YOU FUCKI-"

"ENOUGH!" Lunala exclaimed, regaining their attention. "Now is not the time to complain about what happened in a previous challenge. Especially one that I didn't even host, so keep your heads focused on TONIGHT'S challenge. Okay? Good…"

Incineroar and Mudsdale both growled as the wind suddenly started kicking up and drops of water started falling from the sky.

"Oh for fuck's sake…" Hakamo-o groaned as a few of the others tried covering their heads.

"Don't worry…" Lunala said. Her body glowed a bit brighter and a large barrier covered the entire area they were standing in.

Lycanroc saw the water hit the barrier and start sliding down the sides. "Nice…"

"Now, about tonight's first challenge…" Lunala started. "Tonight, you all will be dancing…"

Oricorio's eyes sparkled upon hearing that.

 **000**

" **YES! I finally have a chance to prove my worth and strut my stuff…" Oricorio said, posing in front of the camera.**

 **000**

"There will be a short dancing competition between the guys and the girls, so Marowak and Salazzle are going to be helping you all because I'm sure that some of you can't dance worth shit…" Lunala explained.

"Some of us have nothing that allows us to, thank you very much!" Dhelmise replied.

"Wait, so Marowak is taking all of us guys and Salazzle all of us girls?" asked Mudsdale. "How is that gonna be fair?"

"You all can come up with your own dance moves…" Lunala explained. "They're just going to be giving you pointers…"

"Who's gonna judge the competition?" asked Incineroar, his arms folded.

"You'll find that out later…" said Lunala.

"Okay...now where the hell are we supposed to go so these two can train us?" asked Dhelmise.

"You're still going to be on the mountain. The barrier will be expanded…" Lunala said with a glare. "Girls stay up here, guys go with Marowak…"

"Follow me, boys, you shall learn how to dance with one of the best…" he said, twirling his bone as he walked down the slope.

"Oh joy…" Dhelmise said sarcastically as he and the other guys followed.

 **000**

" **Considering that one of the girls I stayed with before meeting back up with my man had a stripper pole that I used when she was at work, I think I would've been better off with the other girls…" Incineroar explained. "But, I guess we'll see how this goes…"**

 **000**

With the guys gone, the remaining five girls stood in front of the Salazzle.

"Alright ladies-"

"Why did you fuck Passimian?" Hakamo-o asked abruptly.

"Haka!" Lycanroc exclaimed, shocked at her sudden interruption. "Lunala said to focus on THIS challenge!"

"I'd just like to know what gives her the right. Aren't you way older than him?" she asked, glaring daggers at the lizard.

Salazzle giggled, surprising the girls, but angering Hakamo-o mostly.

"What's fucking funny!?"

"The fact that I didn't even have sex with him…" she replied.

Suddenly, all of the girls looked confused. There was a bit of silence for a while.

"Bullshit", Togedemaru replied. "I was right next to you two and I heard everything!"

"Correct, you _heard_ everything…" she replied. "I kissed him, sure, but I didn't really do anything. He picked me up and threw me on the bed, but when we got under the covers, I just released a lot of pheromones and knocked him out. Then I just kept the bed bouncing for a while and got him sweaty from a bit of heat. Easy peezy…"

"So...he never slept with you?"

"Of course not!" Salazzle giggled. "Kiss, yes. Sex, no. Now, can I move on to teaching you girls?"

Hakamo-o rubbed her arm sheepishly, growling to herself.

 **000**

" **THAT DUMBASS!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.**

 **000**

"Alright guys, can any of you do this?" Marowak said as he suddenly broke into a perfect split, his bone raised, making them all gape.

"Does it look like I have any type of capacity to be able to do that?" Dhelmise asked annoyedly.

"No, which is why I don't expect you to be the one who represents your team…" Marowak replied, still in the split position. "You and the sea cucumber lack the sufficient amount of limbs to participate. Bear and tiger on the other hand...you two have all the correct limbs. So…" he said, standing up.

"Try this…HUWAH!" he exclaimed, dropping into a split again.

Bewear's ears wiggled and he put a paw to his mouth, unsure about if he could do that or not. Incineroar, on the other hand-

"HUWAH!" Incineroar exclaimed as he easily broke into a split with a smile.

Bewear and Pyukumuku both gaped, while Dhelmise didn't look surprised at all. "You know, I'm not at all surprised that you're able to do that…"

"FUCK YOU!"

"Very very impressive tiger-man…" Marowak said, still in the split position. "Bear man, now you try…"

"Uh...I'm unsure…"

"Just do it Bewear. You're the only one who can dance out of the three of us…" said Dhelmise. "And the fact that you're going against a gay, flexible cat, you're gonna need to get over some insecurities…"

Incineroar growled before trying to blast him with a Flamethrower, only for him to dodge.

"Bear man…" Marowak repeated.

Bewear groaned.

"You can do it Bewear!" Pyukumuku encouraged.

"I'm about to injure my crotch", Bewear said stoically. "You're not helping…"

"Sorry…"

Bewear sighed as he slowly sat down with his legs spread far apart. He whimpered as he continued sliding his legs apart. Incineroar smirked to himself as the bear struggled.

Soon enough, he spread his legs as far as he could and just stayed in a position to where his back leg was bent a bit.

"Hmm...good enough…" Marowak said, rising to his feet. "Now, this was just a test of your flexibility, so I can see what you guys may be able to handle. And from this, I can see that one of you is much more capable than the other…"

Incineroar got back onto his feet easily with a smile, while Bewear slowly got up, groaning from the newfound soreness in his crotch area.

"Of course one's more capable than the other, one _gets_ fucked, and the other fucks _others_ …"

"I swear to Arceus that I will destroy you!" Incineroar roared as Bewear held him back with one arm.

"Hey, where's his brick!?" Dhelmise exclaimed, as Incineroar mentioned Arceus' name. A brick hit landed on his head instead. "DAMN IT!"

Marowak held his head. " _This is going to be a long while…"_

 **000**

"Alright girls, we've got the start up down, now it's time for you to let your body do the talking…" Salazzle explained as a few of the girls already looked tired. The only one not tired was Oricorio. She was literally born for this.

"What do you mean let your body do the talking?" asked Mudsdale. "What are we even saying?"

Salazzle giggled. "Sometimes, dancing symbolizes something. Whether it be just for fun, an inspirational dance, a praise dance, or even just a seductive dance, you're trying to make your audience feel a certain way while watching."

"What? Horny?" Togedemaru asked, deadpanned.

"That's only if you're in a good relationship with someone", Salazzle replied. "But, you can still do it if you please. I'm not sure who the judges Lunala is going to bring are, but I'll just say this. If you have a slender figure, and you the judges are male, try to appeal to them the most because they'll most certainly give you high scores…"

"Finally, something that I actually expect to hear from a Salazzle!" Togedemaru said.

Salazzle rolled her eyes. "We're not all sexual deviants…" she explained. "But, like I said, try to get on the guys' good sides. They always think with the head between their legs when it comes to girls…"

"Okay, so what are me and Togedemaru supposed to do with our 'chunky' bodies?" Mudsdale queried, taking a bit of offense at the fact that Salazzle only mentioned the 'slender' bodied girls getting attention. The girls on the Solgaleos all fit the category of 'slender', but she and Togedemaru didn't.

"Some guys like chunky, too. Don't think I'm discouraging you two", Salazzle said. "There are just more males that prefer slenderness."

"Hell, I don't give a fuck about relationships or what guys think of me anyway, so I don't care…" Togedemaru replied.

"We can tell by your eating habits…" Hakamo-o mumbled to herself.

"What was that!?"

"Ugh...we don't have time to argue!" Oricorio exclaimed. "We're here to dance, so let's...just...dance…"

"Yeah, we really are getting distracted by conversation...and I'm usually the one that causes the distraction!" Lycanroc added.

"Okay", Salazzle said, wanting to get back on track as well. She was getting payed by the minute anyway. "Now, here's a tip. Try to shake your hips as much as you can for the full effect", she said as she started demonstrating.

As she danced, she moved her hips from side to side while rubbing down her sides. Hakamo-o blushed and turned away and Togedemaru rolled her eyes, while Lycanroc, Oricorio, and Mudsdale watched on in interest. Oricorio, in the back of her head, was groaning at this display, but she decided to leave it be.

"This type of dancing will ensure that the guys have your attention…" Salazzle explained as she stopped.

"I'm sorry, but if this is going to be a competition, shouldn't you be actually teaching us more dance moves, because at the moment you just seem to be interested in giving us tips on getting into a male's perverted mind so that they give us free points…" Oricorio said, folding her arms.

Lycanroc and Hakamo-o both gave her looks as if she was crazy.

"Uh...Ori...giving us tips is a GOOD thing…" Lycanroc said, thinking that Oricorio had lost her mind. "Why are you complaining?

"Well I'm sorry, but when it comes to dancing, I happen to actually take it seriously. I'd rather impress the judges with actual skill. Not just because I'm shaking my ass to turn them on…"

Salazzle giggled. "I expected this kind of response from you. Every Oricorio I come across gives me the same talk about how I'm not really dancing and just shake my ass in guys' faces…"

"I can actually dance in a variety of styles…" she continued.

"Then let's see it…" Oricorio challenged, causing the other girls to groan.

"Oricorio...we don't have time to-"

"It's okay girls", Salazzle interrupted. "I'll handle her little request and we can get back to ACTUALLY practicing and learning, okay?"

The girls exchanged looks for sighing in defeat and sitting down, leaving Oricorio and Salazzle as the only ones standing,

"Do the macarena…" Oricorio demanded.

 **000**

Marowak was currently spinning on his head before spinning on his back and ending with a one-handed handstand. Seeing that, Bewear twitched.

"Okay, show me what you can do…" Marowak said, sitting back down.

Incineroar and Bewear exchanged looks before looking back at the Marowak. Incineroar didn't want to chance Dhelmise saying anything else to him, but also didn't want to just stand there. He was going to have to take the chance.

He closed his eyes to avoid looks and started tapping his left foot. He swung his hips back and forth before starting to dance as if he was in a club. He was dropping down and shaking his butt. As he continued, Dhelmise had to stifle his laugh. He couldn't hold it for much longer though, and laughed his ass off, causing Incineroar to growl and just stop.

"Well, now we know if I hadn't ever figured you out, I'd end up finding out _this_ way", he chortled, while Bewear and Pyukumuku exchanged looks.

"Enough anchorman", Marowak said before using Flame Burst, hitting Dhelmise and stopping his laughter. "Let him be himself. He's got more courage than you…"

"Um...I'm not sure how popping, locking, and dropping is synonymous to being yourself, mister…" Dhelmise replied, a bit burned from the Flame Burst. "Plus I don't even have anything to shimmy and shake, so the courage argument is out the window."

Marowak just blinked in response before turning to Bewear. "Bear-man, it is your turn…"

Bewear stared at him blankly. "I don't have any dance moves."

"Try", Marowak responded. "Don't put yourself down just yet. It's too early on…"

"...Okay…" Bewear said. "Uh…"

He started trying to mimic what Incineroar was doing earlier, making the tiger cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing. Then it reoccurred to him that Bewear was mimicking _his_ moves. His smile turned to a frown and he growled to himself.

"Okay okay, you're just copying tiger-man. You need your OWN moves…"

Bewear stared at him in silence, causing Marowak to sweatdrop. "Okay...I will have to work hard with you to ensure that you do not completely embarrass yourself."

" _Wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing…_ " Incineroar muttered to himself before realizing what he said. "Hey! That's not fair! Why does he get special training?!"

"You are still here. You'd be able to see…"

Incineroar muttered something incoherent to himself, folding his arms.

"10 minutes left guys…" Lunala said, appearing and disappearing.

"WHAT?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "That's not-"

 **000**

"Hmm...I guess you're good…" Oricorio said after fifteen whole minutes.

"You _guess_?" asked Togedemaru. "She perfectly did every fucking dance you called out! Just because she's got quote-unquote sex appeal doesn't mean that she can't dance. She's supposed to be training you all for a reason…"

Oricorio rolled her eyes as the Salazzle stood there with a sneer, having completed each dance. "Can I continue teaching now? Or are there more objections?"

"10 minutes…" Lunala said as she briefly appeared and disappeared.

The girls all glared at Oricorio, who groaned. "Fine…"

"Good…" Salazzle said. "Now, are there any specific styles of dance that you girls want to learn?"

"I have a feeling that it's going to be a one v one for each gender, so I volunteer L-"

"I'll be taking the spot for our team…" Oricorio interrupted.

"What?" Hakamo-o and Lycanroc questioned.

"Girls, I'm trying to be a choreographer. If this...seductive wench thinks that she'll teach me something new. Who am I to judge? She did all of the correct dances I names, anyway," Oricorio explained.

The girls exchanged glances before Hakamo-o sighed. "Fine."

"Good luck~" Lycanroc said, smiling a bit.

Oricorio nodded.

"And Mudsdale's going for us since I literally have no interest…" Togedemaru added, making Mudsdale glare at her. "Plus, she has more body than me, so...that's a plus."

Mudsdale rolled her eyes.

"Uh...okay", Salazzle giggled. "The rest of you girls can still watch and take notes. Just in case", she said with a suggestive wink.

Lycanroc giggled, while Hakamo-o and Togedemaru rolled their eyes.

 **000**

After the remaining ten minutes were up and the competitors actually got some training and practice in, they were all called back to the main area. Lunala was waiting there. A higher platform rose up from the volcano surface and a table with three chairs appeared in front of it.

"So, are you all ready for the dance off?" Lunala asked giddily.

"You know damn well that we didn't get enough time", Dhelmise replied annoyedly.

"Uh...I'm pretty sure half an hour is enough time for these two to train you. They've trained dancers that have appeared in music videos, movies, who got to perform at special events…" Lunala listed.

"Well they sure sucked here…" Togedemaru commented.

Lunala rose a brow. "Uh huh...how much time did you guys spend arguing and interrupting the progress?"

No one responded. They just looked at each other sheepishly.

"Mhmm, exactly…" Lunala continued. "You guys screwed yourselves over."

"Just get on with the explanation of how this bullshit is going to go…" Hakamo-o grumbled.

"Whatever you say…" Lunala said, rolling her eyes. "Now...WELCOME TO THE TOTAL POKEMON: ALOLA DANCE OFF!"

A cheering crowd was suddenly heard, confusing the contestants as they started looking around. It was then revealed that it was the Alolan Rattata intern that was with Solgaleo in the last challenge; he had a remote and he was holding a button down. When he lifted his paw, the cheering stopped and they gave Lunala a 'really?' look.

Lunala glared at the intern, who ducked behind the platform in fright. After he did that, Lunala rolled her eyes and groaned to herself. "TWO PLAYERS FROM EACH TEAM. ONE MALE AND ONE FEMALE, MUST DANCE BATTLE IT OUT FOR THE ADVANTAGE IN THE NEXT CHALLENGE!"

The intern, now wearing a pink dress and headdress, strutted over to an object with a sheet covering it and yanked it off, revealing a speedboat.

"A BRAND NEW AUTOMATED SPEEDBOAT! COMPLETE WITH LEATHER SEATS! A MINI TELEVISION! AND A TREASURE DETECTOR!"

The competitors were a bit impressed, but the fact that this wasn't really a personal prize kept them from showing any actual excitement.

"Now, for the judges that will decide which team gets this prize! First up, we have the King of Catastrophe, the All-around Agitator, the Legendary piece of shit himself...VICTINI!"

A yellow and orange fox-pixie teleported into the first seat. "You know, I'd get mad and get you back, but it's true, so...I guess it'll slide."

"Next up, we have the hedgehog dog who's abusive to flowers..SHAYMIN!"

The green and white canid was teleported into the seat next to Victini and groaned. "I'm NOT abusive! Bellossom knows that it's all out of love…"

"Yes, belittling her and cutting her off all of the time really shows love…" Lunala retorted.

"Hey! We're still doing better than your shitty show!"

"Yeah yeah, what do you want, a cookie?" Lunala replied as Shaymin folded her paws and grumbled to herself.

"And finally, we have the unbiased buff guy who happens to love tap-dancing…BUZZWOLE!"

A large, buff mosquito appeared from an Ultra Wormhole and landed in a chair.

"Aw what the hell?!" Buzzwole exclaimed. "Why am I here!?"

"We talked about you being a judge for one of the challenges…" Lunala replied. "That time is now. Nihilego and Guzzlord are close to the merge on their show anyway so you and Pheromosa will be done soon and go back to your own show. Why not have more exposure before it happens?"

"Hmm...fair point", Buzzwole replied.

"Great, we've got an alien mosquito and two borderline insane hosts of other shows judging us. This will be _very_ fair…" Dhelmise commented sarcastically.

"Hey...deal with it", Victini said. "I'd rather be back at the hall my damn self. You don't see me bitching about you guys…"

"Enough interaction!" Lunala intercepted. "Let's start the competition! I need a guy from the Lunalas and a guy from the Solgaleos!

Incineroar felt extremely uncomfortable and nervous as he climbed onto the platform, now knowing that two of the three judges were males. On the bright side, one was buff as all living shit, and he loved muscle. His fiance didn't really have that much of it, but his personality and strength made up for it.

Bewear, as usual again, showed no emotion. Marowak's dance tips didn't really help him out at all, so he was stuck. He had no idea what he was going to do.

"Alright...Bewear vs. Incineroar. Let's see how this goes!" Lunala announced. "And...BEGIN! Intern, hit the music!"

The Alolan Rattata intern, now wearing a backwards cap, sunglasses, and a large chain, hit a boombox's 'play' button. A hip-hop/pop beat came on and Incineroar immediately recognized it.

 **-000-**

 _Incineroar and Lucario were inside of their favorite club, The Milk Man. Numerous others, male and female, were inside dancing, drinking, watching TV, essentially the works. Lucario wasn't really drinking since he didn't like how he got when he was drunk. Incineroar on the other hand…_

 _Incineroar was panting before getting into Lucario's lap and grinding on him. Lucario noticed that others were staring and gulped in nervousness. He was enjoying the action, but now wasn't the right time._

" _I want you~" Incineroar said drunkenly._

" _Yeah...uh, you've made that obvious, hun", Lucario replied. "But, now's not the time nor the-"_

 _Suddenly, a dance beat came on and Incineroar hopped off of Lucario's lap. Everyone around was heading to the dance floor. "OOOHH! Let's go dance, baby!"_

" _You know that I can't dance…"_

" _Well then I do the dancing, and you just look cute…" Incineroar said before kissing him. He then grabbed his arm and pulled him off of his stool._

 _Incineroar brought to the center circle, causing Lucario to blush and sweat. He didn't really like being in the public eye that much. Incineroar was having the time of his drunken life, popping and locking, two-stepping, gyrating his hips and...twerking?!_

 _He had gotten close to Lucario, who was too business eyeing everyone else nervously and start shaking himself against his crotch. When the crowd started cheering and recording, Lucario turned back and saw the situation, blushing. He couldn't help but smile to himself, though._

 _It all came to a close when Incineroar did a backflip and landed in a split, causing the crowd to go wild. Lucario smiled and shook his head playfully as Incineroar got back on his feet._

 **-000-**

Incineroar looked around and saw that he was in a lying down position with his head against his arm. Apparently, he got lost in the music and started dancing without knowing it.

"Uh…"

"Well...I...don't know what to say to that", said Shaymin. "It was...interesting to say the least", she finished. "Wait, aren't you the same Incineroar from my show?"

"What?"

"Different dimensions and time zones", Lunala interrupted. "Let's not get into it. Bewear. Your turn."

The intern turned the music back on and Bewear looked at the judges before looking down with a sigh.

He slowly slid down, breaking into a crude split. That was it.

"Uh...okay," said Lunala.

"OH COME ON, BEWEAR!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Well, who do you guys think won?" asked Lunala.

"The bear", both Buzzwole and Victini said simultaneously.

"What?" Shaymin questioned.

"WHAT?!" everyone else exclaimed.

"Come on, it's obvious that Incineroar had the advantage. He's gay…" Victini said. "Bewear just attempted a split, something that most males have a tough time doing, and partially succeeded. So, he wins…"

"Oh come on!" Lunala said. "Buzzwole, I thought you were supposed to be unbiased!"

"I'm not biased! I just agree with Victini. I mean, there's no doubt that the tiger can dance, but you can obviously see that the bear is mentally challenged…"

"Hey…" Bewear called, hearing that.

"That...that's bias…" Lunala said.

"Oh...well, okay", Buzzwole said. "Bewear wins…"

"Oh that's bull and you two morons know it", Shaymin commented. "Incineroar did WAY better. Bewear just did ONE move and it wasn't even fully correct!"

"He's a guy. That's how non-flexible guys do splits", said Victini. "Deal with it!"

Shaymin glared daggers at him.

Incineroar clenched his fists and growled angrily.

 **000**

" **Fuck these legendary pricks!" Incineroar roared. "I didn't win...because I actually have fun and dance?! It's not my fault Bewear doesn't do shit!"**

" **How the hell are our social lives advantages?!"**

 **000**

"Alright, that's one point for the Solgaleos…" Lunala said begrudgingly. "One female from the Lunalas, the other from the Solgaleos…"

Mudsdale and Oricorio came up, but, before they could even begin.

"Not even gonna bother with this. The bird wins for me", said Victini. "No matter what the horse does, it's not gonna compare to the actual bird."

"YOU LITERALLY JUST GAVE THE DISADVANTAGED PARTY A WIN!" Shaymin exclaimed. "Why the sudden flip-flop!?"

Victini stared blankly at her before Shaymin realized and facepawed herself. "You are a jackass…"

"Why thank you…"

"Okay, Oricorio, since you guys won the last round, you can go first…" Lunala said. "Intern!"

The music started playing, and this time, it was a caribbean-like beat.

Oricorio nodded and she started moving side to side, her hip feathers shaking as she shook. She started doing a barrage of different dances and techniques from handstands, to salsa, to tap, much to Buzzwole's delight.

After about two minutes, she stopped and smiled.

Shaymin and Buzzwole clapped as Oricorio bowed.

Lunala seethed. "Okay...Mudsdale. You're up; show 'em what you got…"

The music started again and Mudsdale immediately started shaking her backside. She spun around, moving her hooves along with the music. Her dreadlocks bounced as she bobbed her head and she bent her front half down to shake her butt. She stopped after a few seconds and got back to...doing the same thing.

After two minutes, like Oricorio, she stopped.

"Well, that was uh...ah whatever. Just say who you think won…" Lunala said.

"I stand by my choice…" said Victini, folding his arms. "Her ass wasn't even that fat to shake…"

Mudsdale glared at the fox.

"Are you blind? That ass _is_ fat", Buzzwole said. "I vote her just because I actually enjoyed watching it. No offense Oricorio…"

Oricorio rolled her eyes.

"Well Shaymin...it's up to you…" Lunala said, looking to the canine.

"Well, though I find twerking entertaining, Oricorio had the better performance to me, so...I guess the Solgaleos take it…"

"WHAT!?" Lunala exclaimed while the Solgaleos cheered.

The Lunalas glared at them. That wasn't fair at all. But, then again, they were hosts of their own shows, so they should have expected bullshit results.

"Alright, get outta here", Lunala said.

"Aw...look who's butthurt", Victini teased. "Get good, noob…"

"FUCK OFF!"

The three of them were teleported away by Lunala. She growled after they left and looked up at the moon to just calm herself. The rain continued pouring down as well and sliding down the barrier, so she sighed to herself. "Okay. Solgaleos get the boat", Lunala said. "Let's head down for the next challenge…"

 **000**

Everyone returned to Route 7, only this time, they were on the right side. The wet sand caused discomfort for some, but they'd have to deal with it for a while.

"Alright…" Lunala started. "Your next challenge is to fish for pearls!"

Everyone remained silent before Pyukumuku spoke up. "Like...Clamperl?"

"No…" Lunala replied. "Actual pearls!"

"How the hell do you fish for pearls?" asked Hakamo-o. "They can't bite or anything!"

"You'll find out soon enough…" said Lunala. "Now. The main goal is to collect as many pearls as you can within the next hour…"

"And because the Solgaleos won today's advantage, they get to go search further back at that rock formation," she continued.

The three remaining Lunalas growled.

"Now, for your equipment…" Lunala said as two iron fishing rods with suction cups attached to the bottom appeared in her hands.

"Wow...instead of hook there are suction cups…" Dhelmise commented. " _Very_ original…"

Lunala took a breath, calming herself; she wanted to destroy him so bad. "Okay. Go on and get started. Remember, you've got an hour…."

And with that, Lunala disappeared, as did the barrier shielding them from the rain.

"Fuuuuuck", Lycanroc groaned.

"Hurry up and get in the boat," Dhelmise said as Bewear put the boat in the water, which was churning due to the wind and rain.

The Solgaleos all got in the boat, which immediately started heading to the large rocky area.

"Well...this is going to be-"

Togedemaru used Thunder on their boat, causing it to short circuit and stop. Mudsdale and Incineroar smirked.

"Nice one…" Mudsdale said. "They always fuck us over when we get an advantage. It's nice to have a change…"

"Yeah yeah…" Togedemaru muttered, snagging the fishing rod from Incineroar. "Let's just utilize the only fishing spot we have…"

She walked forward to the only set of rocks remotely close to the shore and cast her rod into the water. Incineroar growled as the rain kept pouring down. "This fucking sucks!"

"Just pipe down and look in the sand. Maybe they're around here, too…" Togedemaru said as she sat down.

"Whatever…" Incineroar said walking to the right side of the went ahead and followed him to the side.

"Hey...I was just wondering. Would you be interested in eliminating Togedemaru?" asked Mudsdale.

Incineroar rose a brow. "How come?" he asked, despite not giving a shit. He didn't really care who got eliminated as long as it wasn't him. And since Mudsdale was coming to him, he guessed that he was the deciding vote, which he was happy about.

"Because she's useless. She ate all of our food at the hotel; she doesn't provide any usage to the team; this is the only thing she's done today…" Mudsdale explained. "Plus, according to Salazzle, she fucked us over in the Shady House challenge!"

"Well, when you put it that way...she definitely deserves to go…" Incineroar growled.

"Glad we're in agreement…" Mudsdale said with a smile.

Togedemaru noticed them conversating in private and grew suspicious.

 **000**

" **That bitch is likely trying to conspire against me. But, she won't be succeeding in that...because this time, we're gonna be winning this challenge…" Togedemaru explained.**

 **000**

"Those fucks!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she started pounding on the front of the boat, which was smoking.

"Uh. I don't think beating this boat is going to help us in any way, shape, or form…" Dhelmise said. "We've got like...three good fishing spots here, so let's utilize them to our greatest capacity…."

"Hmm...how about you guys stay here, and Pyukumuku, Bewear, and I head to the rock area and see what's inside?" Lycanroc suggested.

"Hell, whatever you think will help us out…" Hakamo-o said as she picked up the fishing rod.

Lycanroc nodded before diving into the water, with Pyukumuku and Bewear going in as well. They started swimming to the large rock formation, leaving the two girls alone with Dhelmise.

Oricorio checked the tracker to see if it was working, only to see that it wasn't. She groaned. "Damn them!"

"So, how'd it go with you guys' trainer?" Dhelmise asked, curious. 'I'm sure Hakamo-o had a...pretty tough time…"

"FYI, she explained that nothing went down and Passimian was just a horny idiot…" Hakamo-o replied.

"Huh...interesting you'd believe a Pokemon whose species is comprised of only females who love getting it in…" Dhelmise said. "I mean...she could have just fabricated the entire thing to get you off her back…"

"No, I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth", Oricorio cut in. "She explained every detail of what happened. Meanwhile, you're here in our faces trying to get Haka to double think. What's your damage?"

"Yeesh, I thought this style of you's personality was supposed to be chill…"

"I am chill. But when it comes to dancing or my friends, I get a bit riled up", Oricorio explained.

"Good for you…" Dhelmise replied. "Now how about putting some work in. I'm gonna go check the rocks that are further to the right. Have fun…"

He started floating away from the boat before going underwater.

"Jackass…" Hakamo-o muttered as she cast her line into the rocks, only to reel it back in with nothing attached to the suction cup. She groaned. "How the hell are we even supposed to know if the pearls are on the line?!"

Oricorio shrugged. "I guess luck…"

Hakamo-o huffed and recast the line.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc, Pyukumuku, and Bewear swam around the rock and noticed a path extending from it. They climbed onto it and started heading to the center. Once they made it, they noticed a smaller pool of water with a single fishing spot.

"Uh...was this the only reason that we got a boat as a reward?" Lycanroc asked. "A single pool?"

"I'll check it out!" Pyukumuku said as he hopped into the rocks.

The cucumber landed inside and found himself surrounded by pearls. About fourteen small ones and two big ones to be exact. "Shiny…" he commented.

"Anything down there?" asked Lycanroc.

Bewear kneeled down and reached his arm into the rocks and pulled Pyukumuku back out. When he was taken out, a pair of angry eyes appeared from the darkness.

"Well, that wasn't as deep as I thought it'd be", Lycanroc commented.

"There's a bunch of pearls in there!"

"Really?!" Lycanroc asked excitedly. "Bewear, could you?"

Placing Pyukumuku on his head, Bewear got back on his knees and started scooping out pearls.

"This is great! There's no way we can lose!"

Bewear felt a nip on his arm and took it out; when he withdrew his arm, he saw that a Huntail was biting him. "I'm not fish food", he said before yanking it off and throwing it off of the rock.

"I think that's all of the pearls we need from here…" Lycanroc said, picking a couple of them up. "Let's get back to the others…"

Bewear walked to the other side of the rock, where he threw the Huntail and saw that it was still raining, albeit a small bit. He could barely see due to the darkness of the night, but he could make out the boat, so he walked off the edge and into the water.

"Uh...I'm not sure how that...okay. Not gonna say anything…" said Lycanroc as she walked behind them and jumped into the water with the pearls tucked in her mane.

 **000**

Incineroar managed to dig up two big pearls near the shore, while Mudsdale could only stand around, unsure about what she could do. She couldn't swim and she didn't really have the physical capabilities to dig, or at least she hadn't learn if she did. She sighed to herself as she started to reflect a bit. She didn't really have anything special about herself other than her hypersexuality, but that wasn't really something to be proud about.

She didn't know why she was that way, but it had always been a part of her in some way. She recalled all of the times she and Bewear fooled around as a Mudbray and Stufful, then he evolved and things felt a LOT more intense. That's when it really started and she started craving sexual contact. It had always been in the back of her mind when she was 12, but it didn't really start until she was 14, which wasn't that long ago considering she was 19 now.

Every time she fooled around with someone, she heard someone screaming in her head to stop and that it wasn't right, but the happiness and pleasure she felt drowned it out. She knew that those who knew her viewed her as a tasteless slut with no sense of morality, especially when she slept with a married Zangoose with two kids. It hurt her feelings, but again, the actions made all of her logic and reasoning go out the window.

That was partially the reason that she stopped messing around with Bewear and wanted to stay away from him. He was clingy, yes, but he was also the cause of her needing so much sexual satisfaction. Even avoiding him didn't help, because she ended up sleeping around anyway and he ended up following her all the time. That's why she practically despised him, because of the actions that followed what happened at Brooklet Hill.

She was trying to calm down and stop with the sex, but Bewear got her riled up again. She stared at the bear in the barely lit night as his wet body got back into the boat. She growled to herself before looking away and watching Incineroar's wet fur drip as he rose up in annoyance. She shuddered and shook her head.

" _Get the fuck...over yourself…_ " she told herself.

This had been happening again since she and Bewear stopped fooling around. She started having naughty thoughts again and she felt so empty. She was a strong girl with a rather competitive nature and a bit of a quick temper, but none of it really got to show because of this.

She took a deep breath and tried clearing her mind. However, since she was standing motionless in the rain, the sound of the rain hitting the concrete behind them and the water didn't really help. She had pretty good control, but if exposed to something in particular that looked pretty good, she couldn't help but get all bothered. She clenched her eyes tight, trying to make her mind go blank. She wanted to win this game. This was her main priority.

Something touched her side, making her jump and open her eyes. She saw that it was just Incineroar and calmed down a bit. The guy was hot, but he was gay, so she knew that he was off limits; however, another part of her didn't care.

"Uh...you alright?" asked Incineroar.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"Because you've been standing there motionless for the past ten minutes…" Incineroar responded.

"Oh, uh...sorry", she replied. "Didn't realize, I guess."

"Uh huh…" Incineroar replied. "Anyway, I found more pearls…", he said, showing a pearl string and six more small pearls.

"Great! But how much time do we have lef-"

"HALF AN HOUR REMAINING, COMPETITORS", Lunala said, returning and giving them a brief amount of light before leaving again.

"Damn her and her random appearances!"

Togedemaru remained focused on the fishing; she had gotten ten so far: five pearl strings, three big pearls, and two normal pearls. She looked at the others and saw that they were just conversing, not looking for pearls.

"HEY YOU TWO!" she yelled. "Can you cut the chit-chat and keep looking for pearls, please!?"

The two of them glared at her, but decided to keep looking anyway.

 **000**

Hakamo-o growled as she reeled the rod in for the twentieth time with no results. He roared out and broke the rod in half before tossing it into the sea.

"...Well, we're hosed now," Bewear spoke up.

"Bewear, why don't you just get us more pearls? Go down and-"

"Dhelmise can do it…" Bewear said, lying down as the rain poured on him.

Dhelmise returned and came back with a few pearls. "Well, I've got these…"

He tossed the pearl strings and few other pearls into the boat.

"OKAY, NEVERMIND!" Lunala exclaimed as she reappeared next to the boat.

"Stop screaming!" Oricorio retorted.

"And what do you mean nevermind?" asked Dhelmise.

"There's no way the audience wants to watch you all stay in the same spot for an entire hour. This isn't a fishing show", Lunala explained. "So, the challenge is...over!"

The Solgaleos exchanged looks.

 **000**

Lunala recast the barrier, but the competitors were still all drenched.

"Alright, let's count up the pearls and determine the winner…"

 **000**

 **A bunch of boring math later**

 **000**

"And...with nineteen pearls...the Lunalas win!" Lunala cheered happily as Mudsdale and Incineroar cheered and Togedemaru rolled her eyes.

She turned to the Solgaleos. "Aww...poor babies. Even with an advantage, you've lost…"

"Meanwhile, we've won far more challenges than you!" Dhelmise reminded. Lunala glared. "You're lucky that this is just a reward challenge, because I would love to watch your teammates boot your sorry ass o-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, pardon me…" Hakamo-o interrupted with a glare. "Did you just say that this was a reward challenge?!"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention", said Lunala. "No elimination tonight. This was strictly a reward challenge for the challenges on Friday."

She looked to the Lunalas. "Solgaleo will be informed of you guys' advantages. And you guys…" she continued, turning to the Solgaleos. "You get nothing."

"Just like every other challenge…" Lycanroc groaned.

"Well, head on back to the hotel and get dry", Lunala said. "You don't wanna wet up your bed sheets or slip on the floor…"

"What about the barrier?"

"Not my problem…" Lunala said. "You'd better start running because I'm teleporting away once I'm done here."

"You're a bitch!" Hakamo-o growled before she and the others started running.

Lunala giggled. "Anyways, there you have it folks. No elimination, but some interesting interactions nonetheless. But, next challenge WILL have an elimination, and just who knows who it'll be? Find out next time on Total...Pokemon...Alola!" she announced before disappearing.

 **000**

 **Nothing much of interest happened this chap. Mostly acted as a character development chap for Mudsdale and Oricorio. We got a bit of insight on Mudsdale's issues rather abruptly, while Oricorio showed what she was there for. And we got some clarification and some pretty decent interactions, that's a plus right? No? Well who cares, I'm writing it, so HA! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total...Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

 **"No elimination, so review...NOW!" Lunala exclaimed.**


	8. Episode 8: It's Time for Desert!

**I TOOK WHAT'S YOURS, I MADE HER MINE!**

 **000**

Mudsdale was tossing and turning in her bed. She had been feeling weird the last few days: stomach cramps, nausea, she felt her stomach get larger, but she hadn't been eating. It was weird. She knew that these were all symptoms of something, but she didn't want to say the word. She hated it.

She didn't want the possibility of it being true, but she had no idea how to figure it out. The only person that she'd had sex with was Bewear, so if she was…. _with child_ , it was most definitely his. She growled in aggravation before turning over and looking at the clock on her nightstand. 8:46 PM.

She sighed and stared at the ceiling, tears starting to form a bit in her eyes. She didn't want to be pregnant. She wasn't ready. And on international television, too? The backlash that she'd get would be far too immense for her to handle.

Why could she just keep control of herself? If Bewear hadn't ever had sex with her here, none of this would've happened. She wouldn't have ended up turning the tables and begging for him to pound her at every waking moment. It was shocking, too. She only let him go _in there_ once, out of all of the times they did it. It was always in the _other area_ or her mouth.

She wasn't sure, but she was certain. She was pregnant...with Bewear's child. Just the though made her sick to her stomach. Actually, it wasn't even just the thought. She gagged and threw up in a trash can near the corner of her bed. She never wanted to be pregnant; she never wanted to be a mother. The thought of raising a child just never interested her. She wanted her freedom.

Gumshoos was right. She should've stopped. Now she was likely going to get eliminated from the competition; well, as long as they didn't know. She remembered her mom explaining to her that pregnancies lasted at least nine months, so she was a bit confident that no one would find out until that time. She just still couldn't believe it. She was against abortion, so when and if she had this kid, she'd be giving it up in an instant. She wasn't going to be telling Bewear; he was too emotionless to care anyway.

She huffed and decided to just sleep for the rest of the night. Tomorrow's challenge was going to be in the morning, so she needed as much sleep as possible.

 **000**

Hakamo-o was sitting against the wall on the seventh floor chewing on a Pocky stick from the box she got from the pantry. She didn't understand the point of the previous challenge. If there wasn't going to be an elimination, what was the point of doing the challenge?

She wanted a reward after doing hard work, but not losing a player seemed to fill that place. She sighed in annoyance, holding her head.

"You okay, Haka?"

She looked up and saw Lycanroc lying in front of her.

"No. The last challenge pissed me off. We did all of that bullshit and lost!"

"Yeah, but at least we didn't lose anyone…" Lycanroc said, focusing on the bright side. "I mean, who'd we even vote out if we had to?"

"Pyukumuku…" she said instantly. "No offense to him, he's just the weakest link."

"Oh, well...you've certainly thought about it, huh?" she asked.

"How could I not?" Hakamo-o queried. "There's always the possibility of us losing, so we've all gotta think about it at some point…"

"I understand that, but...everyone has their own strengths-"

"-and weaknesses. And out of everyone on the team, Pyukumuku has the least usability and you know it," Hakamo-o replied. "He's nice, he's cute, and he's had a sad life, but we can't negate that fact."

Lycanroc looked over toward Bewear, who was lifting weights as usual, and Pyukmuku was asleep on the weights. She looked down and realized that she was right. However, the same could apply to herself or even Oricorio!

Dhelmise had his ghostliness, Hakamo-o was a leader and was very strong, and Bewear was just pure muscle. She wasn't one to put herself down, but she really didn't have anything that'd be known as 'beneficial' to the team. Sure, she was smart in some regard, but she was just a fun-loving, outgoing girl who loved messing around. She neglected to see her own usability.

She didn't feel like Hakamo-o would be helpful in explaining what made her usable; she had doubt that even she knew.

"Uh...yeah…" Lycanroc said softly. "I...uh...I guess you're right…" she trailed off as she started standing up. "Well, I'm gonna...go find Incineroar. You...keep doing this, I guess", she said, giggling.

Hakamo-o smiled softly as she left, putting another Pocky in her mouth.

 **000**

Oricorio, in her Pom-Pom Style groaned in annoyance as she lied on her bed. Her team lost, and she was actually happy, but it immediately changed when Lunala revealed that it wasn't an elimination challenge. She was really hoping that she could convince the girls to vote for Bewear with her. She wanted to just ask them beforehand, but she didn't want to raise suspicion in them.

"Challenge results were so unfair. Why couldn't we get rid of Bewear?!" she exclaimed.

She didn't want to resort to cheating to ensure that her team lost again, but she wanted to get rid of him so bad. Well, she wanted to get rid of _any_ threat. Maybe if she could convince the other team to out Mudsdale, it'd be fine.

She sighed. Her head hurt just thinking about the situation. She turned to the clock and saw that it was 9:06 PM. Since tomorrow's challenge was going to be in the morning, she decided to go ahead and take a shower that night so that she wouldn't waste time in the morning.

 **000**

" **Okay, if we lose the next challenge, I convince the girls to get rid of Bewear", Oricorio said. "If the Lunalas lose, I convince them to get rid of Mudsdale. There."**

 **000**

Incineroar was watching a movie on television about male strippers. He was so focused on the gyrating hips and their tattoos on their arms and lower backs that he didn't realize that there was knocking on his door. After a while, the knocking got louder and he groaned, rising up to open the door.

Opening it, he was actually happy to see Lycanroc standing there. "Hey~" she greeted.

"Hey cutie…" he replied. "Come on in…"

Lycanroc jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around neck so that their noses touched. Incineroar chuckled. "Y'know if I was straight, this'd be the part where I threw you on the bed and had my way with you…"

Lycanroc giggled. "And I'd be completely fine with that~" she whispered seductively.

"I bet", Incineroar replied as Lycanroc released him and got back on her own two feet. "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" he asked, heading back to his couch.

"Nothing really. Just bored…" she replied as she sauntered over and hopped into his lap, eyeing the television.

"Oh~" she admired. "Magic Mach, huh?"

"Damn right…" Incineroar said, watching it intently.

Lycanroc couldn't help but laugh. "You're such a horncat…"

"Actually I haven't been that since last week…" Incineroar replied, still staring intently at the screen.

Lycanroc shook her head playfully before recalling another reason she came in here. She wasn't that comfortable with talking about it with Hakamo-o, but maybe Incineroar would understand, even though he was one of two useful players on his team.

"Incineroar...can I ask you something?" she asked softly.

"Sure. Go ahead…" Incineroar said, focusing his attention to her as she sat up.

"Be honest...do you think I'm useful on my team?" she asked sheepishly.

Incineroar rose a brow in confusion. "What brought up this question? Did they call you useless or something?"

"No, no. I'm just unsure about how long I'll last here if my team's gonna go by the 'least usable' rule and vote each out that way…" she explained. "I'm just wondering when it'll be my time…"

"Well...that's gonna be a pretty difficult decision when it comes down to it", Incineroar replied. "You girls have become good friends, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, you have two fodder players before you. Pyukumuku and Bewear," Incineroar reminded. "If you girls stick together, you may-"

"No, no, no. I'm not asking about strategies to keep me in", Lycanroc said, smacking his chest lightly. "Just...do you think that I'm useful?" she asked with puppy-dog eyes.

"Of course you're useful…" Incineroar finally answered, not really affected by the puppy-dog eyes since he used them all the time at home. "Everyone's useful in some way. You're the one who brings the fun and sense back to your team. Without you, I feel like Hakamo-o would've exploded by now…"

Lycanroc giggled. "I can see that."

"Yeah. So, in a way you're the glue that holds your team together…" Incineroar replied.

Lycanroc smiled. "Thanks…" she said, kissing his cheek.

"No problem…" Incineroar replied, ruffling her mane a bit.

Lycanroc turned her attention back to the television, snuggling against his chest.

 **000**

" **I really like Incineroar. He's so cool, cute, and goofy. If he wasn't gay, I'd totally date him", she said.**

 **000**

Dhelmise was back in his room, thinking about his next move. Certainly there was more he could do to mess with the others. He didn't even get to do much of anything in the last challenge or the last few days. Everyone wasn't around at certain times and he liked large audiences. Hence why he usually threw insults around during challenges; he didn't like communicating with others that much in private. He did it, but he didn't really WANT to. At home, he was usually antisocial and just liked planning things alone. He just acted out for attention and to amuse himself, hoping to push others away.

He didn't really need friends, anyway. He just needed to prove his worth in order to stay in the game. Nothing more. He didn't really care about anyone anyway, as he was only here to stir up drama and trigger them. The exposure on television was a drawback, but he was at least having fun annoying the others, especially the hosts. They were just so easy to annoy.

He still had his jokes saved up from last Monday, as well a few more he came up throughout the week. He just needed the right punchline from some of them. What he did in the last challenge was all improvised due to the situation and who and what he was seeing. He really wanted to try some of his newer material out. He had one person he wanted to work on the most though. Mudsdale.

He had been noticing her behavior lately. Mood swings, her lack of eating, her growing gut, he knew for a fact that the draft horse was pregnant. He wasn't even the teensiest bit surprised. The way she lusted for Bewear ensured that she'd be pregnant, even with where she claimed _it_ went.

He wondered how the hosts would feel if he told them. He actually already knew; if a girl got pregnant on a show like this, they'd be eliminated for their safety and the child's. That would be a good thing for him; despite hating the show itself, he still wanted a chance to win, and being that Mudsdale was a threat, it was great opportunity.

Suddenly, a thought entered his head. "Maybe if we lose, I could bring up Mudsdale, get her eliminated, and we could still lose someone…"

That sounded like a good plan, and in doing so, the others would dislike him even more. It was a win-win. It was getting close to 9:30, but he wasn't tired, so he switched on his television and started watching another show going on.

 **000**

11 hours passed

 **000**

Togedemaru woke up inside of the pantry. She had been using a loaf of bread as a pillow and covered herself with an old white sheet that was there. She yawned and smacked her lips before unwrapping the bread and take a piece out.

She headed out of the pantry and saw that a few of the others had gotten up earlier or just came down earlier than usual, as they were grabbing as much food as they could despite it being Solgaleo's turn to host.

She looked at the clock and gave them looks, especially seeing that a few of them were piling up food.

"Er-hem!" she cleared her throat angrily.

Hakamo-o, Lycanroc, and Incineroar turned to her before heading out with their large plates. Togedemaru huffed and rolled her eyes before going over and checking out what all was left. There was still plenty left over for her, much to her happiness.

With the others gone, she started thinking about outing Mudsdale again, but she knew it'd be impossible. She knew that she and Incineroar were gonna get rid of her the next time they lost; she needed to ensure her safety somehow, but she didn't know what to do. There wasn't much that she _could_ do anyway. She just needed to make sure that they won these next challenges. It was the only way.

 **000**

" **Those two fuckers are not gonna cost me this game. I deserve it!" Togedemaru blared. "Horse bitch has got to go. I know she's the one who probably convinced Incineroar…"**

 **000**

"Wow, uh...is all of that food really necessary?" asked Oricorio, back in her Pa'u Style as Hakamo-o, Incineroar, and Lycanroc came up with enough food for everyone up there. The only ones excluded from the seventh floor were Dhelmise and Togedemaru.

"Hey, we've got an hour and a half…" Incineroar replied. "And I'd rather not risk the living garbage disposal down there eating everything like last time."

"What were the odds that she would?" asked Pyukumuku.

"High…" Hakamo-o replied. "She's a fatass…"

Pyukumuku remained quiet.

"Let's just try to eat in peace and wait to be called down…" said Lycanroc, not wanting insults to be thrown around. Though, she had to admit that it was true.

 **000**

Solgaleo walked into the kitchen in the hall, finally hungry after a few hours of awakening. He had a nightmare about Entei trying to get under him again, but because of his sleeping schedule, he had to dream it, as waking up at night made him feel sick. Ironic, right?

He spied Victini putting a toaster strudel into the toaster and raised a brow. Victini usually hated toaster strudels, so why was he heating one up. Plus, those were _his!_

"Victini, if you're trying to piss me off by eating my food, then you're only gonna hurt yourself…" the large lion said, walking up to the small, floating fox.

The fox turned around and immediately Solgaleo realized that it wasn't the normal, sadistic Victini. It was the naive, semi-caring one. He could have sworn that something happened with Mewtwo's experiments. There shouldn't be two Victini that are complete, polar opposites of each other.

"Sorry Solgaleo, but my helper ate all of my own toaster strudels and the only ones that are awesome tasting are the ones from here…"

"Uhh...they're just taken from the store. We're legendaries. We don't really have to pay for anything unless we want to…" Solgaleo explained.

"We don't?! I mean, I knew we could DO whatever we wanted but-" Victini exclaimed incredulously before letting out a groan. "This stupid moral compass of mine has been making me broke and I didn't even have to pay for anything!"

" _How am I one of the only ones around here who knows that_?" Solgaleo asked to himself before speaking up again. "And doesn't 'do whatever we want' include paying or not paying anyway?"

Victini face-pawed. "Well, thanks...now I know that I don't have to pay for anything…"

"What's up with you?" Solgaleo asked genuinely curious. "Aren't you usually a bit more upbeat?"

"Well, considering that my legendary license expired-"

Solgaleo cut him off immediately. "Whoa whoa whoa...legendary license? What're you talking about?"

"The license that we all get that show that we are legendaries when we're in public?" Victini asked, pulling out the license he had.

"Float that in front of my eyes, please…"

Victini did so and immediately Solgaleo stifled a laugh. Victini was confused about his suppressed laugh. What was it for?

"Uh...dude. You realize that Kyurem made that, right?" Solgaleo questioned, making Victini laugh in return.

"Come on, that's not true. Arceus gave it to me…" he replied.

"Uh huh...she didn't give anyone else one of those…" Solgaleo retorted. "And there's tiny print on the bottom right corner that had 'KYS' on it."

"What?" Victini asked, looking at the bottom right corner of his license and seeing the 'KYS'. He face-pawed again before tearing up the license. "WHY AM I BEING SO DUMB?!"

"Hey, at least you're not being stalked by someone who only wants your 'D'..." Solgaleo replied, making Victini stare at him blankly for a few seconds.

"I...don't know how to respond to that…" Victini said as his toaster strudel popped up from the toaster. He pulled it out and took a bite as Solgaleo groaned before teleporting another pack into the cabinet.

His own stomach growled as he put two of his own toaster strudels into the toaster. As he waited, he noticed Victini eyeing him, as if examining him.

"Uh...you're staring, dude…"

"Oh, right, right. I was just thinking...it felt kinda easy talking to you", he explained.

Solgaleo chuckled. "Thanks...I don't get that a lot."

"Weird...but you're still kinda new to the reality show scene, right?" he asked.

"I suppose so…" Solgaleo replied.

"How many competitors do you have right now?" he asked.

"Uh...like nine are left right now…" Solgaleo said, pulling the number from memory. "It would've been eight, but Lunala decided not to make her challenge an elimination one…"

"That sounds good enough…" Victini said. "What do you say to a crossover episode?"

"Oh, well...sure", Solgaleo said as his strudels popped up.

"Okay great, so I'll have to plan a challenge that's epic..." he replied.

"Well I have all of my challenges already planned, so you could...just go along with mine or Lunalas when the time comes if you want…" Solgaleo responded. "When we get to our merge seems like a good time for a crossover…"

"Planning ahead...I like it…" Victini said with a supportive nod. "So...your merge it is. I'm already at the merge for my show, so it'll end up being a double special…"

Solgaleo nodded before teleporting out of the kitchen.

 **000**

Dhelmise was in the shower, moistening himself. "CONTESTANTS! COME ON DOWN!" he heard over the speakers.

Dhelmise groaned. "Of course…"

 **000**

After a few minutes, everyone came down.

"Hello", Solgaleo greeted. "How do you all feel?"

"Awful", Dhelmise responded. "We're still in this competition…"

"Oh, so you wanna be eliminated. You heard him Solgaleos…" Solgaleo replied. "He feels awful that he's still got a chance. Be sure to vote him out if you guys lose again."

"Hey, screw off!"

"Hey, you said it yourself…" Solgaleo replied. "Plus, I doubt even you can 'screw off', so no. Now, let's head to the ferry terminal and be on our way to Ula'Ula..."

They all started heading out of the hotel and, seeing an opportunity, Dhelmise floated next to Mudsdale. "Hello Mrs. Bewear…" he teased softly so that only she heard.

Mudsdale growled and gave him a death glare. "Don't. Call me that. I want nothing to do with that emotionless, rapist, prick!"

"Whoa...rapist?" Dhelmise asked, stopping in place. That came out of nowhere. "Isn't that a bit...harsh?"

"No. He forced himself on me and I told him no, but he did it anyway…" Mudsdale said. "If I lose this game, at least I'll be able to go to court…"

Dhelmise couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Uh...didn't you like it and proceed to stalk him? Even force _him_ a couple of times?"

"Oh please. Guys can't be raped unless it's by another guy…" Mudsdale replied before continuing to follow the others, ignoring the point Dhelmise was making.

The Sea Creeper sighed to himself. " _Female ignorance...ya gotta fucking hate it…"_ he mumbled to himself.

"DHELMISE! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" he heard Hakamo-o yell to him.

"I HAVE NO VISIBLE ASS!" he shouted back as he floated after them.

They all reached the dock, where the boat was waiting with the ramp down. They all climbed aboard, with Solgaleo being the last to board as the ramp came up.

 **000**

" **Okay, Mudsdale got me off track on the way to the damn ferry, but I'm going to make sure that she knows that I know her issue," Dhelmise explained. "A little blackmail can go a long way…"**

 **000**

The ferry took them to Ula'Ula Island. The ramp dropped and they all piled off of the boat. Knowing the routine, they all stood and waited for the majestic white lion to come off of the boat.

"COME ON KIMBA, WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!" Dhelmise shouted.

Solgaleo teleported behind all of them with an vexed expression. "Right here…" he said, startling most of them before they turned around to face him.

"Now," he continued. "Your next challenge will be held mainly in Haina Desert, so I am going to teleport us to Route 13…"

"Does the 20 minute home rule apply _now_?!" Incineroar asked with a piercing glare. "Because Tapu Village is literally RIGHT NEXT to that route…"

Solgaleo figured that he'd be persistent about this; this was the second time he's asked about this on Ula'ula Island. No one else ever wanted to go home for their twenty minutes from what he's seen. Because of this, he decided to appease him. "You know what...okay. If you want to possibly miss instruction and be the cause of your team's loss, then sure. Feel free to go…"

"We have an advantage. I'm sure we'll be fine…" Incineroar reasoned with a smirk.

Mudsdale and Togedemaru exchanged looks.

"Whatever you say…" Solgaleo replied. He teleported them all to Route 13.

 **000**

They all appeared on Route 13. There was a motel on the far right, an oasis dead center in the route with flourishing trees and shrubs, and three trailers with boxes and barrels in front of them; one across from the desert entrance, and the others on the left side against the mountain.

"Alright Incineroar, you can-"

Immediately, the tiger rushed off, with Solgaleo groaning. "Intern A...follow him and when he gets there, start his twenty minutes…"

"Yes sir…" the Alolan Rattata intern said from offscreen as he followed Incineroar.

"Okay…" Solgaleo started. "Today's challenge is fairly simple. All you have to do is make your way to Tapu Bulu's shrine, WITHOUT ghostly or psychic abilities, and deliver…"

An Alolan Sandshrew intern walked toward him with two wide, rectangular boxes. They were white on the top and green around the sides.

"...these Premium Dazzler Doughnuts…" Solgaleo finished.

Togedemaru paled, her left eye twitching a bit as her stomach suddenly growled. "Those doughnuts are known as the best in the entire region!" Togedemaru exclaimed, shaking.

"Exactly. Tapu Bulu loves his doughnuts…" Solgaleo said.

"Why the hell are we delivering doughnuts in specific?" asked Hakamo-o. "And why specifically to Tapu Bulu?"

"Because originality…" Solgaleo replied blatantly. "Deal with it."

Hakamo-o folded her arms and grumbled to herself.

 **000**

" **I knew I should've just stayed at home…" Hakamo-o muttered.**

 **000**

"Now, this desert is pretty standard, except...it's a maze…"

"We live in Alola...we know about the desert…" Dhelmise explained as a few others nodded in agreement.

"Okay...well, if you know so much, you won't have any trouble navigating through the traps and puzzles that have been placed inside…" Solgaleo replied.

Everyone remained silent.

"That's what I thought…" Solgaleo continued. "You all never learn to just let me finish before speaking out."

"Just get on with the explanation…" Mudsdale egged on.

Solgaleo gave her a look of knowing, which caused her to look away quickly.

"Well, the traps are the standard. Pitfalls, quicksand, cages, attacking Pokemon, you know, the works", he revealed. "However, each area that you come across will have a different riddle module or puzzle that you must solve in order to leave that area. The first team to make it to the Ruins of Abundance will win an advantage in the next challenge."

"There's gonna be ANOTHER challenge after this one?" Oricorio asked in surprised.

"It depends on how long it takes…" said Solgaleo. "If you're smart enough to find the ruins fast, there will be a next challenge; if it takes a while and you all get disoriented, then there likely won't be another one."

"That doesn't mean take your sweet time just so you don't get another challenge, however," the Sunne Pokemon continued. "This is still a race…"

The members of each team exchanged glances of uncertainty. The desert was essentially a more dangerous labyrinth now and they would get lost, undoubtedly.

"Now, since the Lunalas won Monday's challenge. You guys get a map to help you navigate through the sandy domain…" Solgaleo explained as the Alolan Sandshrew handed Togedemaru a map with a wink, causing her to use Thunder on it, paralyzing it.

"And Solgaleos…"

"We get jack shit...we already know…" Dhelmise finished for him.

"True, but you have more players to work with," Solgaleo said, trying to bring the bright side up.

"Oh goody…" Oricorio said dejectedly.

"Now. You all have your task, so get going", Solgaleo said, moving out of the way of the entrance to the Haina Desert.

The Solgaleos immediately rushed inside, but as Togedemaru started going in as well, Mudsdale stopped her.

"Wait!" she said, looking in the direction where Incineroar ran.

"WAIT?!" Togedemaru blustered in confusion. "Why the hell would we wait?! If he insists on going home every time we come here, it's obvious that he doesn't care about the game! So, if we lose, even with the map. He needs to go!"

Mudsdale, despite being in allegiance with Incineroar to take out Togedemaru, understood where she was coming from and it actually made sense. If he didn't come back in time, he could screw them over and she'd have to vote him if this was going to be a recurring factor. She didn't want it to go that way, though. "Fine…" she finally replied, turning back around. The two rushed into the desert.

 **000**

" **If Incineroar ends up costing us the challenge, I'm still gonna vote for Togedemaru. But, I'm also gonna have to talk to him and make sure that he isn't always doing this when we come to Ula'ula", Mudsdale explained.**

 **000**

Incineroar knocked on one of the first doors of the apartment building in which he lived. He pushed an ear against the door and hoped that he was here. He sometimes left to take a walk to the beach, but he didn't want to stray away from his required destination. He still needed to get back to the competition.

He knocked again, and this time he heard a bit of shuffling. He tail swished excitedly as the door soon opened, revealing a Lucario standing there, who he immediately pounced on and locked lips with, with the intern starting his twenty minutes.

"Babe, what are you doing here?!" Lucario asked before gaining a dejected expression. "You didn't get eliminated did you?"

"No~" Incineroar said, sitting up on his crotch. "They said that we could have twenty minutes home if we're on our home island and nearby…"

"Wait, so you're missing the competition right now?"

"Well, yeah, but we have the advantage, so it's fine…" Incineroar replied.

"Okay, great...how many players are left on your team?" he asked.

"Uh...well there's just three of us left, but it's still fine!" Incineroar said sheepishly before kissing him again.

"How many are on the other team?" he asked seriously.

Incineroar looked to the side. "S-Six…"

Lucario's eyes widened. "You need to get back to that competition", he said immediately. "If you guys lose, you could end up getting eliminated because you're here!"

"That's not an issue…" he responded. "Two of us are teaming up against the third one…"

Lucario groaned, facepalming. "Well, I suppose that's okay. It's not really cheating, so I guess I'm fine with that…"

Incineroar purred. "Y'know...we could have a quickie. That way I can get back to the competition faster…"

"Didn't we talk about getting me out of your head so that you can focus on the competition!?" Lucario exclaimed. "I don't think sex will help in that!"

"Pleeeeease…." Incineroar begged, giving him kitty cat eyes. "I promise I won't come back if you just plow me good enough…"

"Arceus, is this gonna be on television?" he asked, a bit worried about the word choice Incineroar was using.

"Hey Incineroar, you've got 14 minutes and 32 seconds left…" the Alolan Rattata intern reminded.

"I'll take that as a yes…" Lucario groaned.

He picked up Incineroar and started taking him into their back bedroom. The intern just sighed as he started hearing harsh banging, creaking, and roars coming from the room. He shuddered in disgust. "I shoulda just took the job at Torchic-Fil-A…"

 **000**

"Arceus, this is bright as hell…" Hakamo-o groaned, shielding her eyes with her arm.

"Sunlight. Warmth...it burns", Bewear said, looking at the sun. He put Pyukumuku on his head, due to the mucus coating his body working as sunscreen.

"Uh… so where do we go?" asked Lycanroc, seeing three paths that they could go down, two with podiums in front of them, and one wit square puzzle in the ground in front of it. Eight blocks filled it.

"Well, two out of three of these have podiums, so maybe we should go for the odd one out…" Oricorio reasoned as she held the doughnut boxes.

"So, the left…" Pyukumuku said as they all started heading to that puzzle.

 **-000-**

Togedemaru and Mudsdale entered the same vicinity and saw the Solgaleos in front of the left path.

"What does the map say?" Mudsdale asked, seeing them working on the left puzzle as she balanced the box of doughnuts on her back.

"It says to go right…" Togedemaru said, eyeing the map.

The two girls headed to the right path with one of the podiums. The Solgaleos saw them and immediately turned their attention to them.

 **-000-**

"They have the map!" exclaimed Dhelmise. "Why don't we just wait for them and follow?"

"Not a bad idea at all…" said Oricorio, handing Bewear the box of doughnuts.

"Well, let's just complete this puzzle anyway," Lycanroc said. "If they see us just waiting, they may-"

"They may what?" asked Dhelmise. "They can't stop us from just following them. Every time they have an advantage, we use it to benefit ourselves anyway…"

"Yeah, Dhelmise is right. There's no point in finishing this puzzle if we're just gonna follow them…." Hakamo-o added.

"But do you really think that they'll just leave paths open after one team is done?" Lycanroc asked.

"We don't know if the interns are dumb or not, so we'll just have to wait and see", Oricorio answered, looking at the team across from them.

 **-000-**

"They're just watching us…" Mudsdale observed, feeling the Solgaleos' eyes piercing the back of her neck.

"Of course they are…" Togedemaru groaned. "Those assholes always steal our advantages and end up winning. Not this time…"

Mudsdale raised a brow. "What do you have in mind?"

"You'll see…" said Togedemaru. "Now, help me solve this stupid riddle."

 _What is as big as a Wailord, but weighs absolutely nothing?_

"Its shadow…" Mudsdale said effortlessly. "Come on, that riddle was on Crashbox…"

"Sorry, I actually watched funny things on television as a child", Togedemaru replied before pressing the answer button. "Its shadow…"

The podium glowed bright green and an invisible barrier that was blocking the way turned visible for a split second and shattered.

"Let's get going", Togedemaru said as she and Mudsdale headed forward.

 **-000-**

"Come o-" Hakamo-o started before walking forward and bumping into something. However, there was nothing visible there. "What the hell?"

Lycanroc moved and placed her paws forward, feeling resistance. She was just as confused and surprised as Hakamo-o. "Wha-"

"I think this is a precautionary measure in case we try to just follow…" Oricorio thought out loud. "Guess they're tired of our tactics…"

"Well, this sucks…" Bewear said.

"I guess we're gonna have to do this puzzle and go this way…" Pyukumuku said.

"Oh please...I can go through this…" Dhelmise said, floating forward, only to be casually punched down into the ground by Bewear. "WHY?!"

"No ghostliness…" Bewear reminded.

"Shit, he's right", Hakamo-o said, her hands on her hips. "We can't do anything about this other than finish this damn puzzle."

"What is this puzzle even supposed to be?" asked Lycanroc while Dhelmise got out of the hole he was in thanks to Bewear.

"Well, obviously it's a slider puzzle. We need to make the picture…" Dhelmise explained. "Whatever the hell it is…"

The blocks that were inside of the square formed an arrow-like shape, which Pyukumuku seemed to notice. "I think it's an arrow", he said as his gut-hand came out. "See, there are triangles on the edges of a couple of them and they're going in opposite directions and stuff."

"Hey, no point in not trying…" said Oricorio. "Can we pick up the blocks?"

"Of course not! It's a-"

Bewear placed the doughnuts down and picked up one of the blocks thanks to the one hole being there. Dhelmise sighed. "I stand corrected."

"Well, this just got much easier…" said Hakamo-o, folding her arms as Bewear proceeded to take all of the blocks out of the ground.

 **000**

The intern was twitching, as he heard running water, but the grunts and roars continued. He looked at the stopwatch in his paw and saw that he just had two minutes left.

"Two...minutes...MORE?!" he exclaimed. "HELL NO!"

He proceeded to stomp into their room so that he could get Incineroar and head back. Anything was better than this! He heard the water turn off and sighed in relief, but still heard soft panting. He banged on their closed door and tapped his right foot impatiently. After a while, the door opened and a now Mega evolved Lucario opened the door with a towel around his waist, a large, noticeable bulge coming from the towel.

He shielded his eyes. "Hey, can you tell Incineroar to come on? He's gonna end up losing time in the challenge…"

Lucario nodded without saying a word, his fur dripping. "Babe! You gotta go!"

Incineroar moaned dejectedly. The intern heard the bed creaking and soon, a shaky, soaked Incineroar came into view and leaned against Lucario, purring. "I love you~" he purred.

"Love you, too…" he replied as they shared a brief kiss.

When disconnected, Lucario grinned. "Now, get outta here and focus on the game. You've gotten what you've wanted…"

"You bet I did~" Incineroar said leaning against him with a lovestruck expression on his face.

Lucario gave him a serious glare, which immediately caused Incineroar to sigh as he exited the room. The intern mumbled to himself as they headed out the front door.

" _They don't pay me enough for this…_ " he muttered.

 **-000-**

Solgaleo was sitting outside the entrance of Haina Desert watching the live footage. He was amused by the barriers that were placed around each individual riddle and puzzle. If they approached one, they'd have to stay and complete that one instead of stopping midway and just following the others. He knew that he was supposed to want his team to win, but it wasn't like he and Lunala were betting, so he didn't really care as much as he did initially.

So far the Lunalas were in the lead, of course, and the Solgaleos were just getting done with the puzzle.

The intern and Incineroar returned, with Incineroar having a bit of a dopey smile on his face. Seeing this, Solgaleo looked to the intern, who looked peeved. "A. Ratt, why the long face?"

"I do NOT want to talk about it…" he said, stomping offscreen.

"O...kay", Solgaleo said, a bit confused. "Incineroar, you're lucky that your team's in the lead right now, but the Solgaleos are catching up. They just finished their first puzzle."

"Crap…" Incineroar groaned, regaining focus. "What are we even supposed to be doing?!"

"I'm sure your teammates will fill you in…" Solgaleo said as Incineroar vanished from before him.

 **000**

"Ahhh!" Incineroar shouted before landing face first into the sand in front of the girls. He lifted his head with a groan as Togedemaru carelessly walked over his head and over his body as Mudsdale kept walking carefully to keep the doughnuts balanced in the box.

Incineroar got up with a growl. "You didn't have to walk on me, ya walking pin cushion!" he said, shaking his fur, only for some sand to stick due to his fur still being slightly wet.

"Meanwhile, you abandoned us to go fucking home for twenty minutes…" Togedemaru retorted. "You don't get to complain!"

Incineroar glared at her, but noticed that Mudsdale had the same agitated look. He looked down vexedly before eyeing the box on her back.

"Whoa! Doughnuts?!" he exclaimed, picking up the box and opening it.

"NO!" Mudsdale exclaimed, stopping him before he ate one. "We're supposed to deliver those things to Tapu Bulu for the challenge!"

Incineroar caught himself and put the doughnut back into the box. And since Mudsdale's movements would likely cause them to tip over, he decided to keep carrying them. "Why the hell are we delivering doughnuts to a deity?" Incineroar queried.

"Because this is a nonsensical competition with nonsensical hosts!" Togedemaru replied brashly. "Now hush. We're coming up to the next area and we need to be watching out for-"

Incineroar unknowingly stepped on a pressure plate buried in the sand, causing a steel cage to appear around them.

"-traps…" Togedemaru finished through grit teeth before turning to Incineroar with a glare. "DAMN IT YOU MORON! IF YOU WOULD'VE STAYED WHERE YOU WERE, WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THESE SUDDEN ISSUES!"

"Oh, so if I go away, I'm a bad teammate. If I'm here, I'm a bad teammate", Incineroar retorted mockingly. "MAKE UP YOUR MIND HYPOCRITE!"

The two of them proceeded to argue, causing Mudsdale to groan in aggravation. Her stomach started rumbling shortly after, making her eyes widen. " _NOW I'm hungry?!"_

The two kept arguing on either side of her as she sat in silence.

 **000**

"Okay…" Lycanroc started. "Let's get going."

The Solgaleos all went in that direction and were immediately enveloped in a bright white light. They all found themselves on the opposite side of the area they were originally solving the puzzle; they were in front of the riddle module that the Lunalas used.

"What the heck just happened?" asked Oricorio as they all just stood idle in front of the riddle module.

"I have no idea…" said Hakamo-o. "But, I think we did something right since we're out of that barrier area."

"Hold on…" Dhelmise started before using Anchor Shot in the direction of the puzzle they had solved. The anchor hit an invisible force and dropped. "FUCK!"

"Looks like my hunch was right…" said Oricorio. "They've got barriers to keep us from leaving an area unless we actually do the puzzle or solve the riddle in front of it, first."

"Stupid measures!" Hakamo-o growled.

"Hey, at least we can just-" Lycanroc started as she bumped into the opposite wall. "DARN IT!"

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Oricorio exclaimed.

"What is as big as a Wailord, but weighs absolutely nothing?" Pyukumuku read as the riddle scrolled across the podium.

"What?" Dhelmise asked.

"It's the riddle we have to solve…"

"Ugh...great", Hakamo-o groaned.

"Its shadow," Bewear answered.

The invisible barrier broke apart, signalling that they could go forward.

"Well...that worked", Oricorio acknowledged.

"Good work Bewear. Let's head forward and see if we can catch up with the Lunalas…" Hakamo-o said as they all ran forward.

 **-000-**

The cage that held the Lunalas had been chewed through, courtesy of Mudsdale. They had continued forward, where they saw two puzzles and a riddle module. A puzzle at the left and right, and a riddle module forward.

"What's the map say now?" asked Mudsdale.

"It says...we go left…" said Togedemaru, looking at the map closely.

"Alright. Let's go…" said Incineroar as he decided to take the lead, walking past them.

"Hey idiot! I'm the one with the map here!" Togedemaru exclaimed as she and Mudsdale got in front of him again.

Incineroar glared. He didn't like how Mudsdale and Togedemaru were suddenly buddy-buddy. He had a feeling that she was playing him and was actually going to try and get rid of _him_. He decided to let things play out for now and see what happens.

The three of them approached the puzzle, which was a Simisage statue with three separate sections that were able to be moved.

"What the hell is this?" Togedemaru asked perplexedly. She'd never seen a puzzle like this before. "This looks stupid…"

"Well whatever it is, we need to get past it to continue…" Mudsdale said as she decided to take a crack at it. Using her muzzle, she started turning the separate pieces of the statue so that it looked complete.

As she did so, the Solgaleos entered the area.

 **-000-**

"What the hell?!" asked Dhelmise, seeing the cage with a few missing bars.

"Probably one of the traps…" said Hakamo-o, walking around it. "Come on…"

They followed the prints in the sand and eventually saw the Lunalas working on their next puzzle.

"We got them!" Lycanroc exclaimed before noticing Incineroar. "Wait...when did Incineroar get back?"

"Who cares? They have all three players again", said Oricorio. "Let's get over and wait for them to finish."

They decided to walk right behind the Lunalas and wait for them to finish up their puzzle. Not only would they possibly get a free exit, if they got blocked off, they'd know what to do beforehand.

As they all stood in wait, the Lunalas began feeling anxious and annoyed, the Solgaleos' eyes on them.

 **-000-**

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever experienced…" Togedemaru said, turning to the Solgaleos, who were focused on Mudsdale and the statue.

"I'm almost done…" Mudsdale said, moving her muzzle along the bottom section and centering it. "Got it!"

The statue glowed a green color and immediately the Solgaleos, excluding Dhelmise were dropped into a pit, startling the Lunalas as the invisible barrier shattered, allowing them to continue forward.

"Let's hurry…" said Incineroar as they started running forward.

They entered an area with a bunch of sharp, jagged rocks in a circle. Togedemaru looked back at the map. "Uh...it...says to go right."

"Uh huh...and with those rocks, do you suppose we fly or-"

"Mudsdale is large enough to carry us across. Plus, Mudsdale are called to carry people across these rocks all the time, so this should be a breeze for her. Isn't that right?"

Mudsdale huffed. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I WANT to!"

"It's not what you want, it's what you need", Togedemaru told her as she grabbed one of her dreadlocks and climbed onto her back, with Incineroar following suit. "Now giddy up!"

Mudsdale growled to herself before starting to traverse the rocks. The mud coating her hooves made it so the rocks felt like pebbles, and she easily made to to the right side, where a riddle module sat.

"Great...another riddle thingamajigger…" Togedemaru observed as she hopped off of Mudsdale's back.

"Another one?" asked Incineroar.

"If you were here at the beginning you'd know…" Togedemaru replied as she looked at the podium. The riddle scrolled across it. "White when dirty, black when clean…" she read.

"Blackboard!" Incineroar exclaimed immediately, his arms folded.

"...I was about to say that…" Togedemaru said, turning to him with a sardonic expression. She turned back to the podium and spoke, "Blackboard."

The barrier broke, but before they could go forward, Togedemaru halted them. "Wait...I have a plan…"

Mudsdale and Incineroar exchanged bewildered expressions.

 **000**

Dhelmise helped the others out of the pit after floating there motionless for a few minutes.

"Why the hell did it take you so long to help us?!" Hakamo-o growled.

"I plead the fifth…" Dhelmise replied.

"You could've at least ran after them!"

"Without the doughnuts?" Dhelmise questioned. Bewear looked at the box of doughnuts in his paws.

"You could have tak-"

"HEY!" Pyukumuku exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "Can we not argue and just try to get through this, please?"

"The little guy is right…" Lycanroc said with a nod. "Come on", she said as she approached the statue, which had been re-scrambled.

She spun the statue around until it resembled the Simisage. The barrier broke again, allowing them to go forward.

They all made it to the next area, seeing the circle of jagged rocks. They didn't really see anyone, which arouse suspicion. Hakamo-o growled. "Dammit! Now we don't know where they went!"

"We can always just check each path…" said Oricorio.

They all stared at the rocks in the middle before giving her a look. "Yeah, good luck…" Dhelmise chuckled. "Four of you can't float or fly, so it's gonna be painful for you…"

"No shit, Sherlock…"

"Well, there's six of us, so two at each path should work fine…" Lycanroc suggested.

" _I_ could've said _that_ ," Dhelmise replied.

"Yeah, the problem is these damn rocks!" Hakamo-o exclaimed agitatedly.

Bewear handed the box of doughnuts to Lycanroc before walking toward the rocks and pressing a foot down into them. He felt a bit of a pinch, but it wasn't anything too bad. He lifted his foot and shook it off before going back over and grabbing both Lycanroc and Hakamo-o by their waists and holding them by his sides like suitcases.

"What the hell, Bewear?!"

"Hush," he replied as he started walking across the rocks and heading to the left side. He made it across the jagged rocks, with the bird and ship parts following him. Once across, he put them both down before picking up one foot at a time and wiping stones off that stuck.

"Good job Bewear...but never EVER grab me like that again…" Hakamo-o said, a blush over her face. Lycanroc couldn't help but giggle at that as she handed the doughnuts back to Bewear.

 **000**

" **OMA, Haka is so bashful and insecure when it comes to guys talking or touching her and she knows it!" Lycanroc blustered cheerfully. "No wonder she was so eager to get Passimian out of there and unbothered after he left. I mean, she said that she kissed him, but she still went straight back to her old ways!"**

" **Oricorio and I** _ **really**_ **need to work on building her confidence around guys…" Lycanroc continued. "But...then again the only guys left are gay, a jerk, far too cute, and...Bewear? I don't really know how to explain the big guy. But, I think Incineroar could still offer some assistance…"**

 **000**

"Alright, now let's see what this is…" Hakamo-o said, approaching the riddle module that was there. The podium was glowing a green color already, which was a bit confusing. Oricorio raised a brow and flew forward, past where the barrier would would normally be. "This one's already taken care of…" she said.

"Okay, so let's NOT go that way…" Dhelmise said as he started floating in the opposite direction.

"Wait, why not?" asked Pyukumuku.

"It's obviously a trap!" Dhelmise replied. "Would it make sense for a challenge to have something already solved if the challenge is to solve things for yourself?"

"...what?"

The seaweed groaned. "Done path equals bad. Not done path equals good…"

"Oh…"

"Hey, it's probably a fake out. You never know", said Lycanroc. "They could be expecting us to think like you when this is actually the right way…"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard…"

"What?" Lycanroc asked.

"The fact you believe that these hosts think that logically…" Dhelmise replied. "They're all far too dumb and focused on torturing us for ratings and views…"

"Let's just check this place in case…" said Oricorio, knowing Dhelmise was right but still needing Bewear to go.

"You all can go in there, but I'm not…" Dhelmise said adamantly.

"If you cost us this challenge, I swear…"

"Oh please. If anything, YOU guys will be costing us the challenge…"

"Uh huh, we'll see about that…" said Oricorio as the girls entered the area, but the guys remained out.

"Huh, so you guys aren't as dumb as you seem to be…" Dhelmise commented, earning him a Brutal Swing into the ground.

 **-000-**

The girls found themselves in a new area, but there were absolutely no paths that they could follow; a dead end.

"Well, looks like this really _was_ a bust…" Oricorio said.

Hakamo-o groaned. "I hate that that bastard was right!"

"Sorry girls…" Lycanroc said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's no issue at all…" Hakamo-o said, wrapping an arm around her with a sigh. "I just really want this challenge to be over. It is far too hot for this…"

"Uh...not to break up the conversation or anything, but...can I ask you girls a favor?" asked Oricorio.

"Sure, always", Lycanroc replied as Hakamo-o didn't reply, but had a look of agreement.

"Well...and hear me out here, maybe...we should get rid of Bewear…"

"WHAT?!" they both exclaimed in complete shock.

"I-I'm sorry Oricorio, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say!" Hakamo-o replied. "The guys is a monster powerhouse!"

"Yeah, if we keep him in, he can help us win more challenges!" Lycanroc added.

"But think about it!" Oricorio continued. "A powerhouse like him is sure to make it far if he uses his strength!"

"Not all of the challenges at the merge are strength based…" Hakamo-o replied. "He's a threat, yes, but have you seen how he acts? He wouldn't make it that far anyway!"

"Well, I'd rather not risk being up for elimination if he ends up demolishing a strength based challenge. He's a threat!" she explained. "We need to be thinking ahead! In these shows, we need to out threats first so that we actually have a chance…"

"Uh...Ori. You realize that in these shows that's the wrong way to think…" Lycanroc started.

"What do you mean?"

"In a lot of these shows, people try to get rid of the heavy hitters beforehand because they're a threat, but only end up shooting themselves in the foot because the guy or girl that nobody suspects ends up winning", Lycanroc exclaimed. "If anything, we should be...going...after the...underdogs…" she realized what she was saying and her eyes widened. " _Pyukumuku…_ "

"So...Pyukumuku? Like I suggested earlier today?" Hakamo-o replied.

Lycanroc growled. "Why are we even talking about this suddenly? I mean it's not like we're 100% going to lose!"

Suddenly, rumbling occurred in the area they were in. Numerous Rhyperior and a few Palossand rose from the ground with glares. The girls paled before hurrying back out of the area.

 **000**

"Well, that was a total bust…." said Incineroar.

"Hey, this map is fucking confusing all of a sudden!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "It's saying to go back and we're going back!"

"Are you sure?" asked Mudsdale.

"YES!"

The three of them made it back to the main area, but they saw that the Solgaleos were already heading towards the last entrance. AND THEY HAD ALREADY OPENED IT!

"Oh NO!" Incineroar exclaimed as the three of them started running to the path.

The Solgaleos made it there before they did and stopped before the other riddle module, which was also glowing green.

"Do we trust this?" asked Lycanroc.

"Well, considering that the three of those idiots came running up here, I'm guessing that this is the right way…" Dhelmise replied, looking at Mudsdale, Incineroar, and Togedemaru, with the first two glaring daggers at Togedemaru.

The Solgaleos all followed the path, causing it to immediately lock back off. However, due to already knowing the answer, they immediately got to follow.

 **000**

Solgaleo and Tapu Bulu were waiting outside of the ruins. "So...who you betting on?"

"I just want my free doughnuts. I don't care…" Tapu Bulu replied.

Soon after he said that, the Solgaleos rushed forward with their box of doughnuts. Bewear handed them to the Land Spirit Pokemon, who smiled and immediately started devouring them without hesitation.

"And the Solgaleos WIN!"

"NO!" Incineroar roared, slamming the box of doughnuts down and stomping on them. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" he yelled at Togedemaru. "YOU AND YOUR STUPID PLAN!"

Togedemaru rolled her eyes.

"Well Lunalas, uh...this is going to be a bit awkward for you isn't it?" asked Solgaleo. "Going from three to two…and-"

"And I believe that I have information that will aid in the decision beforehand…" Dhelmise said, floating forward.

"Oh, do you now?" asked Solgaleo.

"Yep. Mudsdale here...is PREGNANT!" he announced. Almost everyone's eyes widened upon hearing that news. Mudsdale was gaping at the Sea Creeper's boldness and growled shortly after, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Wait...how the hell do you know?" asked Hakamo-o.

"Uh...she's showing all of the signs. Are you people BLIND?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "She's got a bulging belly, she's had mood swings, she hasn't eaten anything in the past few days…"

"What? Were you stalking me?!"

"No. I'm just observant", Dhelmise replied. "I'm not dumb. "Plus, I knew your fooling around with Bewear would get you knocked up sooner or later…"

"Wow...this is good…" said Tapu Bulu, taking another bite of a doughnut.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Mudsdale yelled, charging towards him, only for him to phase away to avoid damage. He wasn't going to harm a pregnant girl.

"Well...I already knew that she was pregnant Dhelmise. If you'd let me finish, you would have heard me say that due to some _private_ issues, both Mudsdale and Bewear are disqualified from the competition."

"Murr?" Bewear said in surprised.

"What?!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "Why Bewear? SHE'S the one pregnant!"

"Yes, but the guidelines are that if a male contestant gets a female contestant pregnant, both of them are eliminated due to fairness", said Solgaleo. "They both played a part…"

Bewear twitched and turned to Mudsdale, who looked back at him with a tearful look of hatred.

"Wait, so that's it?" asked Togedemaru. "No other elimination?"

"Nope, that's all for today", said Solgaleo. "So, let's all head to the ferry and head back to the hotel…"

He teleported them all back to the terminal.

 **000**

" **Dhelmise...that was a dick move," Lycanroc said with a glare. "But, I'm glad that she and her baby will be okay. Ugh...it sucks that we lost Bewear, though!"**

 **000**

" **Dhelmise. You are gone the next time we lose a challenge. Point blank, period", Hakamo-o said angrily.**

 **000**

" **Not the way I wanted things to go, but absolutely excellent nonetheless…" Oricorio chirped. "Two threats gone and Dhelmise has put a proverbial target on his back. Things are going perfectly…"**

 **000**

 **Pyukumuku sighed. "That was a bad move by Dhelmise. Now I don't have anyone to talk to or hang around with. I'm glad Bewear's a dad, though. Maybe I can be its uncle!"**

 **000**

" **Welp...that plan failed horribly…" Incineroar said. "Now it's just me and the glutton. How the hell is this gonna work if we lose the next challenge? A coin flip?!"**

 **000**

" **Two more losers down and a hole team of them to go", Togedemaru said happily. "Time to bring my A-game…"**

 **000**

Mudsdale and Bewear were walked down to the terminal by Solgaleo, ready to ride the same ferry.

"Uh...we both live on this island. Why are you making us get on this ferry?" asked Mudsdale.

"Because it's a certain tradition. Don't worry. You'll still be safe and sound…" said Solgaleo.

Mudsdale growled and bumped Bewear harshly, making him fall to the ground. "If you hadn't done all of that bullshit, we wouldn't be getting eliminated you jackass!"

Bewear didn't say a word and just rose up and dusted himself off with an annoyed expression, one of the only times he's shown actual emotion. "You act like it's purely my fault. You've forced yourself on me every day since Brooklet Hill until the SAW trap challenge…" he said coherently.

"Don't you spin this around on me when YOU started it off!"

"I can see that this child is going to have a traumatized life…"

"Oh-no. I'm giving this little shit up…" she said heartlessly, shocking both Bewear and Solgaleo.

"Oh, well...uh...I suppose that's-"

"You're gonna do WHAT?!" Bewear growled, glaring at her.

"You heard me", Mudsdale said, glaring back. "I don't want this baby. I NEVER wanted one. And I know damn well that you're not gonna take care of it…"

"And why is that?"

"Because you're a retard! You can't comprehend the simplest of things! You're just the stereotypical strong dumbass! This thing may even catch whatever you have that's made you like this!"

"Wow...so it all comes out now…" Bewear replied before chuckling. "Well let me tell you something bitch. Just because I have mental problems doesn't mean that I don't have a fucking heart. Something that YOU seem to be lacking. So if you insist on talking shit on OUR soon-to-be child just because you're an immature whiny slut who enjoys a long pole with no strings attached, I'll happily take him or her in and let him or her know that their mommy is a irresponsible whore…"

Bewear's words hit her like a ton of bricks and she backed away a bit. "Y-Yo-"

"Nope. You don't get to speak anymore bitch", Bewear continued, folding his arms in a glare. "Don't talk, contact, or touch me again. When you have the baby, that's the only time I wanna hear from you. And if I don't, I'm pressing charges…"

Mudsdale gaped.

"Whoa...this got REAL soap opera-y REALLY quick…" Solgaleo said. "Uh...why don't I just teleport Bewear to the location, and Mudsdale takes the ferry."

"No, don't do that", Bewear said. "Knowing her, she's probably try to jump off and drown herself. I'll take the ferry…"

Tears streamed down Mudsdale's face as she shuddered.

"Uh...alrighty then…" Solgaleo said as Bewear got on the ferry and he teleported Mudsdale away. He turned to the camera. "Well, uh...that was...unexpected to see and hear. What will happen now that the Lunalas are down to two members? Will there be more awkward moments like that? Find out next time on Total...Pokemon...Alola!"

 **000**

 **No words. Just no words. Uh...hope you enjoyed? I'll see you all next time on Total...Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Review…" Bewear said, waving.**

 **000**

 **Mudsdale skidded into view as a few of her other friends kept running laps in the background. "I'm an obvious choice for your show. Why? I'm athletic, have a focused mindset, and uh...I've got buns of steel?" she said questioningly. "I honestly don't know what else to say. Just, pick me…"**

 **000**

 **Bewear was just seen lifting weights in his room. "Pick please…"**

 **000**


	9. Episode 9: Another Egg Challenge

**YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE OF SOMETHING YOU SEE!**

 **000**

After his move to get rid of Mudsdale and unintentionally Bewear, Dhelmise had been getting the cold shoulder from nearly everyone. He didn't necessarily care, but he still felt that it was an exaggeration to still be upset about something that was bound to happen anyway.

He had a feeling that they were moreso upset that he just exposed her, which was still equally as dumb to be upset about. All of the viewers that weren't prepubescent teenagers would've known that she was pregnant anyway. Even if he hadn't told, it still would've been obvious if Solgaleo was going to say she and Bewear were both coincidentally going to be eliminated. It didn't take a rocket scientist.

So, at the moment, the Sea Creeper Pokemon was just hanging on his nail in his room. It was Monday morning, so he knew that there wouldn't be a challenge until around 6:00 PM. He decided to just hang there until he felt like going anywhere. He just watched a bit of another show. There were just so many of them.

As he tuned in, he heard a knock at his door, surprising him. Considering the silence he'd been getting from everyone around the hotel, who the hell would want to visit him? It was just 7:16 in the morning, too, so this added more suspicion.

He floated off of his wall and floated to his door. "Who is it?" he asked abrasively.

"Open the door, asshole…" he heard the voice reply impatiently. It was Oricorio's voice, more specifically her Pom-Pom Style's voice; he hated that style the most out of them all.

"What do you want?" he asked vexedly.

"Open the door you heartless seaweed soul…" Oricorio rhymed, her tone still impatient.

"This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed…bitch," he replied as he started floating back to his bed.

"DHELMISE! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" she exclaimed, banging on his door. "I'M FINE WITH WHAT YOU DID! IT'S TRUE!"

Dhelmise twitched. The rhyming was so annoying and cringey, but he was interested as to why she claimed not to be as pissed as the others. He floated back over to the door and opened it, revealing the yellow cheerleader bird.

"Finally!" she said, flying inside of his room.

"This is trespassing; I didn't tell you to come in…" Dhelmise replied, leaving his door open. "Please leave and just stand here." Oricorio groaned in annoyance as she flew back to the door. When she landed, he leered at her. "Okay, come in…"

Oricorio twitched and used Air Slash on him, causing him a lot of damage, but mainly causing him to look at her with an unamused expression. She flew into the seaweed's room and noticed that his room still looked untouched. The only difference was that there were scrapes on the wall above the bed, where she saw his pillow nailed to the wall with a _very_ long nail. She was very perplexed, but she didn't want to know.

"Alright birdbrain, what do you want?" Dhelmise asked, wanting her to get to the point. "You say that you're fine with what I did, but why is that?"

"I'm thinking progressively…" she replied.

"I don't want any car insurance…" he replied in a deadpan tone, which Oricorio responded with an annoyed grunt. This was going to be annoying as hell.

"I'm trying to offer allegiance to you", Oricorio explained, keeping a calm tone. "We lose again and you are through."

"Okay…so, you want to make an alliance with me?" Dhelmise presumed.

Oricorio tilted her head in a way to say 'sorta'. "In a way", she replied. "All I know is that no threats need to stay. You did good with exposing Mudsdale, you got rid of two heavy hitters. Now we need to out Incineroar and we'll be free of possible bullshitters…"

"What about Hakamo-o?" he replied, trying to keep a neutral tone as the rhyming was annoying the crap out of him.

"If it comes down to it and she needs to go, Pyukumuku, you, and I will make sure she doesn't win the dough…" Oricorio said remorselessly. Yes, Hakamo-o was a good friend, but if it came down to the two of them getting the money, she'd rather it be herself.

"Wait, you talked to the cucumber about this already?" Dhelmise asked, a bit surprised.

"Well...no", Oricorio replied. "But I'm sure if I do, he'll be set to go…"

"Okay just stop with the rhyming already…" Dhelmise exclaimed. "I dunno why you're doing it, but just fucking stop it…"

"Do you think I WANT to do this shit?!" Oricorio exclaimed. "I wish I was able to quit!"

"Yeah, uh huh…" Dhelmise replied, not really believing her. He didn't believe that her personality truly changed when she changed styles. He believed it was all an act. This was mainly because changing appearance doesn't change your mindset unless you Mega Evolve. "So you want to somehow get rid of Incineroar, who is on the OPPOSITE team. And get of Hakamo-o, who is supposedly your friend, on this team so we don't have threats in the merge?"

"Good to see that you comprehend…now let's make this game amend..." Oricorio said as she started flying back to his open door.

When she left, Dhelmise tsked before floating back to his door and closing it. "She really is a birdbrain. Now I have more dirt to expose…" he said to himself. However, once he really started thinking about it, realized that everything may blow up in _his_ face. She chose to speak to him for a reason other than the heat he was under at the moment.

She was friends with both Hakamo-o and Lycanroc. If he ended up exposing her plan, she could easily lie and say that he was just making everything up to get her eliminated. And because they hated him anyway, they're vote him out in a heartbeat!

"That sneaky little-" he growled. "Ugh...I guess she's smarter than I fucking thought! She's talking about getting rid of threats when doing shit like this makes HER a threat. Ugh...I'm gonna have to try to do some serious convincing if I want her out of here…"

 **000**

 **Oricorio chirped. "Easy. That idiot will try to expose me, but no one will believe him because he's** _ **him**_ **. I get rid of him, then all I have to do is try and do some convincing to get Hakamo-o out or hope that Incineroar gets the boot if the Lunalas win again…"**

 **000**

Pyukumuku was in his room with a book entitled 'Socializing for Dummies'. He found the book underneath his bed after wanting to find lint for whatever reason. He had seen someone on another show reading a book like this and was surprised when he found the same one. It was a bit helpful for the player who used it on the other show, so he hoped that it'd work the same for him.

"Try to insert yourself in conversations and see how well you fit. Do not seem desperate…" he read, before having a mixed reaction. "But, doesn't doing that make things awkward? What if they look at me funny?" he asked to no one in particular.

He looked back down at the book. "If they look back at you funny or act as if you don't belong, stay vigilant. Try to keep your composure and press on…" he continued reading.

He sighed and closed the book and turned to his right. "You think I can do it, Frank?"

A doll made of lint with button eyes was seen next to him. It didn't respond, naturally.

"You're right. I'll do it!" he exclaimed before hopping off of his bed and heading to the bathroom. He hopped into the bathtub and turned on the cold water. He liked taking cold baths because they always calmed his nerves. He could speak rather well, but he was so used to being ignored and looked over that he no longer had the courage to speak unless someone else started the conversation or if he was well-established with the one he conversed with.

He felt that he was in good standing with his teammates and Incineroar, sorta, but he never really spoke to them casually. He was always with Bewear, who he was the _most_ comfortable with out of everyone. With him gone, he was a bit nervous about what he could say or add to a conversation. He was more of an observer and listener than a contributor when it came to conversations he wasn't a part of, so he was nervous about trying to join in one.

When the tub filled up halfway, he turned off the water and sat at the bottom of the tub for a while, eventually falling asleep. After a while, he woke back up and realized that he was still in the tub! He pulled the plug out, draining the water, which took about two minutes, as he pulled himself up and out of the tub. He headed out of the bathroom and hopped back into his bedroom to check the time. It was-

"9:54?!" he read in shock. "I was asleep in my bathtub for two hours?! Frank!? Why didn't you get me?!"

The doll didn't respond. He chuckled to himself. "Oh….silly me. I forgot really cold water makes me sleepy…" he said as he continued dripping water on the carpet.

He sighed to himself. "Well, hopefully everyone else is awake by now and I can see if the book is right…"

 **000**

Incineroar was asleep on the beanbag chairs on the seventh floor, with Lycanroc lying over him, asleep as well. The lights were turned off and the television was still on.

Hakamo-o got out of the elevator and saw the lights off. She immediately turned them back on and headed to the exercise equipment. Specifically the elliptical machine. She knew that Lycanroc and Incineroar were in the vicinity, but she wasn't really concerned since they were still asleep.

The machine started up, with the beeps and the sounds causing the tiger and wolf to stir in their sleep. Eventually, Lycanroc woke up, her head near Incineroar's crotch. Her eyes widened and she immediately lifted her head up, causing the tiger to wake up due to the sudden lack of pressure on his legs.

Incineroar yawned and sat up, with Lycanroc lying back against his chest, still drowsy. Incineroar chuckled. "I can see that someone's still tired as fuck…"

"Duh…" she said, looking him in the eyes. "When you fell asleep, I kept watching until 2…" she replied.

"No one told you to do that…" Incineroar purred.

"Okay, if you two are gonna have an affair, it's best not to do it here…" Hakamo-o said, coming over upon hearing the two awake.

"Affair?" Incineroar questioned, turning to her. "Pfft. I would never risk the relationship I have. NEVER. I have too good a thing going on."

"Well, this closeness just looks a bit suspect. That's all I'm trying to say," Hakamo-o explained. Observing the tiger and wolf's interactions just brought up too many questions to her. Why were they always so close? Unbothered by lewd physical contact with each other? Looking so intimately towards each other? So open?

"The most we'd get out of each other is if she came over to our house for a threesome…" Incineroar explained shamelessly, folding his arms.

Hakamo-o blanched upon hearing that. How had they gotten so close that they were completely comfortable speaking to each other in that manner? It just didn't make sense to her.

Lycanroc giggled after hearing Incineroar's comment. "You sure your man wouldn't mind~?" Lycanroc asked jokingly.

"Oh I'm fine with him getting with girls as long as he wears a condom and I'm in the room; the only one who gets the good stuff is me…" Incineroar said haughtily.

Hakamo-o shuddered at the thought as she remembered him guzzling the semen from the Would You Rather challenge at Vast Poni Canyon. This was getting X-rated quickly and the two had _just_ woken up! She just shook her head.

Lycanroc saw the look on discomfort on Hakamo-o's face and snickered. "Alright Incineroar, I think that's enough sexual talk…" she said, patting the tiger's chest. However, she instantly remembered that she wanted to talk to her with Incineroar and Oricorio to help her gain confidence around guys.

Oricorio wasn't around, sure, but this could still work without her. Hakamo-o started heading back to the exercise equipment. As she did, Lycanroc whispered something in Incineroar's ear, which caused a small smile to appear on his face.

" _You sure she'd want that?"_ Incineroar whispered back. _"She doesn't seem like the kind of girl who's into relationships."_

" _That doesn't matter. I just want her to have confidence and to not be so stiff and uncomfortable around guys when they're joking, flirting, talking to her, or anything."_

" _So...like you?"_

" _No. I still want her to be her own person, just not as...uptight in a way",_ she replied. _"You get it?"  
_

" _Aw, alright. Well, we'll see what'll happen…"_ Incineroar whispered back.

Lycanroc nodded as the two looked back at her as she got back on the elliptical machine.

 **000**

" **Okay, so Incineroar and I are gonna talk to Hakamo-o later on today and see if we can help her gain some confidence…" said Lycanroc.**

 **000**

After dealing with Dhelmise, Oricorio went to the buffet area to talk to Togedemaru. Why? Because she needed her to stay in the game instead of Incineroar.

Oricorio found Togedemaru at her normal table, but she didn't have a bunch of food like she usually did. Instead, she just had a couple of bacon strips, what seemed to be eggs sunny side up, buttered toast, and a glass of Pinap Juice. A strange choice, especially for Togedemaru's standards.

Oricorio flew over to her, landing on the back of a chair to face her. "Hello Togedemaru. I was wondering if I could talk to you…"

"Hmm...let's see", she started. "You're on the opposite team; you're in your annoying rhyming style; and you've never really talked to me around here period. So...I'm gonna say...NO."

Oricorio gave her a serious glare. "Look. Don't be a schnook. I'm only here to say that you have my support for your team. Taking down a big guy like Incineroar would be any competitive girl's dream."

"Uh huh...thanks…" she replied uncaringly. "I don't really need your support…"

"Well, just know that you have it anyway…" Oricorio replied, annoyed by her attitude. "And if you guys somehow win, at the merge I'll help make sure he doesn't stay."

"Whatever…" Togedemaru said as she started munching on a piece of bacon.

Oricorio glared and grabbed a piece of toast from her plate before flying off.

"HEY!" Togedemaru shouted after her. She growled. "Dumb bitch…"

 **000**

" **It's down to me and Incineroar. If we lose this next challenge, I have no idea how this is going to work", Togedemaru said. "But, I'm gonna make sure that it doesn't come to that. And if we still end up losing, well, I'll ensure that the faggot feline is the one to go…"**

" **Oricorio needs to watch herself…" she continued. "She's talking about supporting me when her teammates are friends with-" she paused mid sentence, gaining a sinister smile. "That...gives me an idea."**

 **000**

The contestants, excluding Dhelmise went to the beach at twelve o'clock on the dot and stayed there for a long while playing and relaxing for the most part. At 4:51 PM, four of them were all on the beach playing volleyball. Lycanroc had found a volleyball net in a closet in the hotel and Incineroar brought it down and set it up. She and Incineroar were on one team, while Oricorio and Hakamo-o were on the other.

Togedemaru was playing horseshoes by herself. In the same closet that Lycanroc found the net, she had found a spike and a couple of horseshoes.

Pyukumuku was just watching, as the game was already even and he didn't want to impose. The book said to insert himself into conversations, not activities.

Incineroar spiked the ball down, getting another point for him and Lycanroc.

"Okay…game point," Hakamo-o said, gaining a smirk. She tossed the ball up and spiked it back down onto the other side.

Lycanroc knocked it back up as it went over the net. Oricorio knocked it back and Incineroar punched it high up into the air. Hakamo-o and Oricorio stared up, waiting for the ball to come back down.

"Oh come on Incineroar, that's unfair!" Oricorio exclaimed before getting hit in the head with the ball, only for it to hit the ground seconds later.

"WE WIN!" Lycanroc cheered, clinging to Incineroar, who smiled.

"Yeah yeah...nice…" Hakamo-o replied disgruntledly, folding her arms as Oricorio rubbed her head.

"Aw...don't be so salty…" Lycanroc playfully said, letting go of Incineroar. "What do you saw we switch partners now?" I'll be on your team and Oricorio can be on Incineroar's…"

"Naw...I'm okay", Hakamo-o replied. "And it's not saltiness. It's disappointment."

"It's just a game, Haka…" Lycanroc said, putting an arm around her. "You can play another round and you know it…"

"I know I can, I just don't want to…" Hakamo-o replied, holding back a laugh.

"Oh…" Lycanroc started before recalling what the plan that they had. "Well, alright then. We can head back to the hotel if you want-"

"No, we don't have to leave the beach. I just don't want to play anymore…" Hakamo-o replied as she sat in her usual chair under the umbrella.

Lycanroc sighed. "Well, two versus one doesn't seem that fair, so I don't know how this game is gonna work now…"

"Hey, Pyukumuku, you wanna play?" asked Oricorio.

Pyukumuku was surprised that he was invited to play; the book didn't say anything about this, so he'd definitely not know what to say. Well, yes, of course, but during the game.

"Um...okay?" Pyukumuku replied as he slinked over to where Hakamo-o was initially standing.

Incineroar was concerned about this matchup and recalled the plan as well. Since she wasn't playing anymore, wouldn't it be a good time to try and talk to her?

"Actually, I'm out, too…" Incineroar said, walking over to where Lycanroc and Hakamo-o were.

Oricorio saw Lycanroc's look and understood what they were about to do. "Oh, uh...yeah, I'm out too. Sorry Pyukumuku…"

"Oh...uh...that's fine", he replied, unbothered about it.

"Let's head back to the hotel," Lycanroc suggested. "We need to talk to you…"

Hakamo-o rose a brow as she noticed the three of them surrounding her. This rose suspicion for her. She wanted to stay at the beach for a while and just relax, but with these three around her, it definitely wasn't going to happen. Eventually, she gave in; she could always come back here alone when there weren't any challenges.

"Fine…" Hakamo-o replied as she stood up. "Let's go back to the hotel…"

"Great...thanks," Lycanroc replied as the four of them started heading back to the hotel. Pyukumuku decided to go after them, not wanting to be alone. Togedemaru, seeing them leave, didn't really care. She pretty much disliked everyone left in the game anyway.

 **000**

The five of them returned to the hotel, where Hakamo-o, Oricorio, and Pyukumuku stayed on the seventh floor, while Incineroar and Lycanroc went to collect food for them.

"What the hell did you guys want to talk to me about?" asked Hakamo-o, getting rather impatient about waiting.

"You'll find out soon enough…" Oricorio replied.

Pyukumuku knew nothing, so he just remained silent until Incineroar and Hakamo-o returned to two large plates of food and snacks. Doughnuts, cakes, gelatin bricks, cheese crackers, sodas, pasta, chicken, chocolate, twinkies, pizza, and much more was brought up.

"Whoa…" Pyukumuku gaped.

"Uh...what's with all of the food?" asked Hakamo-o. "It's almost 5:20 You know that Lunala is gonna be here in the next hour or so…"

"Yes. Who says that we're going to eat ALL of it, though?" asked Lycanroc as she and Incineroar sat down, putting the food in the middle of the circle, or well, pentagon, that they made. "Now...I'm sure you wanna know-"

"What the hell are you talking to me about?" asked Hakamo-o, wanting to cut to the chase.

"This is about your confidence problem when it comes to guys…" Lycanroc explained. "I know that you may not like, need, or care about this, but it needs to be done. We're thinking about this in an outside world standpoint, too, so don't think we're trying to hook you up this time…"

"I don't need this!" Hakamo-o stated, her arms folded. "I'm perfectly with being alone…"

"Are you?" asked Incineroar. "Because from what I've heard, you kissed Passimian before he left, so you do have attraction to males…"

"So what?" asked Hakamo-o. "I'm not gonna date him because he's an idiot! What makes you think that I need this?"

"The way you acted around Passimian, the fact you can't be touched by a guy without blushing, just your overall demeanor…"

"Oh please. Once again, you guys are reaching for something that isn't there…" Hakamo-o replied.

"Are we?" asked Lycanroc. "Cina…"

Incineroar got up and went next to Hakamo-o, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but blush.

"Off…" she said.

"My point exactly…" Lycanroc replied. "That's why we're here to talk about it…"

Hakamo-o growled.

"CONTESTANTS! YOU HAVE FORTY MINUTES BEFORE THE CHALLENGE! PREPARE YOURSELVES!"

"That sounds like enough time…" Oricorio chirped.

 **000**

Solgaleo yawned as he headed to the living room, where majority of the other male legendaries were still watching movies. When Palkia mentioned a movie marathon last Monday, he really meant it.

"So what movie are you guys on now?"

"Cheaper by the Dozen 2…" Keldeo replied. "And let me say...this fucking sucks…"

"Right…" Solgaleo replied. "Well, let me know what happens. I'm about to head to bed…"

"No one cares…" Darkrai replied, eating popcorn.

"And by acknowledging it, you showed that you do…" Rayquaza replied.

"SSSHHHHHHHHH", Landorus said, before eating a mini-muffin.

Solgaleo noticed Entei eyeing him and grew uncomfortable once again. He turned around and started heading to his room.

 **-000-**

As he walked down the hall, he heard fast pawsteps coming behind him and groaned. Turning, he saw Entei behind him, staring him down.

"Entei. Fuck...off…" Solgaleo replied.

"I can't do that without you, though~"

"What the hell is up with you?!" Solgaleo exclaimed. "You've been acting like a lustful slut around me ever since I lost the bet! Get angry! Yell at me! Fight me! Anything other than try to fuck me!"

"No thanks…" Entei said, walking closer.

"Can't you just go to Latios, Heatran, Terrakion, Keldeo, ANYONE else who may be interested?!" Solgaleo asked as he continued walking to his room, with Entei still following him like a lost puppy.

"I would, but none of them really compare to you~"

"I'M BIGGER THAN ALL OF THEM IN HEIGHT! OF COURSE THEY DON'T COMPARE!" Solgaleo roared in protest.

Entei purred in response, licking his lips just thinking about it.

Solgaleo, severely creeped out, started speed walking, but Entei easily caught up with him. Eventually getting tired of his advances, he just teleported to his room. Why he didn't just do this at first...was a mystery.

He sighed in relief as he stretched and prepared to get in his soft, fluffy green bed. His door swung open just as he was about to get in bed. Maybe he should have locked it…

Entei strutted inside, kicking the door closed with his right hind legs. Solgaleo twitched and wanted to leave, but he looked to the side and saw that it was 5:57. His eyes widened, but started to droop as well. He had just told his competitors that they had forty minutes! How did time fly so fast?!

"Entei…" Solgaleo yawned. "I'm begging you. Please...leave me be…"

"Hmm...how about a deal?" Entei started, wanting to bargain. "Every two weeks, you have to please me. You do that...I'll leave you alone…"

Solgaleo groaned. He needed to sleep, but he knew that Entei wouldn't leave him alone unless he agreed. "Fine…" he yawned.

"Good boy…" Entei purred, steadily coming closer.

"Wait...what are you doing!?" Solgaleo exclaimed drowsily, his eyes slowly drooping.

"This is going to start now~"

Solgaleo's eyes finally dropped.

 **-000-**

Lunala woke up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes. "Well...let's go check on Solgaleo, make sure he's sleeping…"

The two regularly checked on each other when they first woke up. They didn't know why, but it just put them at ease in knowing that their sleep schedules were fulfilled. If they weren't asleep, they make sure that they got to bed immediately after.

She flew to Solgaleo's room, and slowly opened the door, causing it to creak a bit. Peeking inside, her eyes widened and she blushed before immediately closing it back. "Arceus, damn it Entei!" she yelled to herself. "That looks wrong on so many levels! Well, at least he's asleep…"

She teleported away, leaving the two lions in the room.

 **000**

Dhelmise was waiting on the first floor as Togedemaru entered the hotel. She had remained at the beach and took a short walk before coming back right on time.

"Where've you been?"

"None of your business," the Roly-Poly Pokemon responded annoyedly. She didn't like him at all, so this was a response that she was happy with giving.

Lunala soon appeared before the two of them, a bit surprised, but also unsurprised. "Oh...it's you two…"

"Like seeing you brightens up our day..." Dhelmise replied.

"I hope you die in a ball of fire…"

"I'm already dead…" Dhelmise replied.

"Good," Lunala replied, flying over to the mic on the front desk. "BRING YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE! TIME FOR NEXT CHALLENGE!" she screeched before flying back over.

"Is the yelling really necessary?" asked Togedemaru.

"Nope", Lunala replied easily before floating in wait of the others.

After a while, the remaining five came out of the elevator. Hakamo-o leered down with a blush on her face, while the other five held their usual expressions.

"About time…" Lunala said upon seeing them. "Come on…" she urged as she floated out, with the others all following her.

Dhelmise glared at Oricorio, though nobody noticed to his lack of a face. He was gonna have to figure out a way to get rid of her, especially if they end up losing the challenge somehow. It was highly unlikely, but it could happen.

Lunala teleported them all away due to the ferries not arriving after six.

 **000**

They all found themselves in what seemed like a boat yard, as they were standing on a structure made of wood and surrounded by water, numerous docks extending from it. Dhelmise recognized this place immediately and chuckled. "Home sweet home…"

"Yeah yeah," Lunala said, waving his comment away. "Welcome back to Poni Island. This challenge, since there is an Exeggutor Island around here, is going to be an egg hunt!"

"Ooh. Like easter eggs?" asked Pyukumuku.

"No", Lunala replied. "Just normal Pokemon eggs."

She started floating towards a Pokemon Center, which had two large nests in front of it. "Now...there are numerous eggs scattered around the Poni Wilds and Ancient Poni Path. The team, that collects the most eggs in two hours, wins."

"Wait, so we're just collecting eggs?" asked Hakamo-o. "No second challenge?"

"Yes. There will be a second challenge, but right now you'll be worrying about this one…" Lunala replied vaguely. "So, I suggest that you all hurry because the sun is setting…and I don't think you'll be able to see..."

"Obviously if we're here and night is approaching…" Dhelmise said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I'm just starting to notice…" said Oricorio. "If this is supposed to be an actual show and we're going to the different islands, how come we aren't really seeing any other normal Pokemon like us?"

"They're here, but we don't want them interfering, so we keep them in whatever building they're in or live in…" Lunala explained. "Now. It's 6:20 now. You'll start in ten minutes and you'll end at 8:30."

"Are we allowed to steal eggs?" asked Togedemaru.

"Yes", Lunala replied. "I don't see why not. Gotta make this more interesting somehow…"

"And are we allowed to attack when looking?"

"Nope. Only when defending eggs, if you decide to," Lunala replied. "Now, if you're done wasting your possible planning time, I suggest you all talk."

 **-000-**

"Alright guys...what's the plan?" asked Lycanroc.

"Well, obviously we need someone to guard the eggs," Dhelmise suggested. "Those two are gonna use any advantage that they can to win. There's just two of them for fuck's sake."

"Alright, then I volunteer you…" Oricorio chirped.

"I concur…" Hakamo-o replied.

"Don't use that word. You aren't that smart…" Dhelmise replied, making Hakamo-o growl and clench her fists. She wanted to punch him so bad, but he wasn't worth it. Plus it wouldn't damage him in any way, anyway.

"Dhelmise, can you just do it?" asked Lycanroc. "We don't need to argue or cause any more tension…"

"Lycanroc, these two biddies hate me anyway. I honestly don't care if more tension arises…" Dhelmise replied honestly. "But, I'll do it because _you_ ASKED."

"Oh, go fuck yourself…it's not like you had anything to do..." Oricorio said.

"STOP RHYMING!"

Both Pyukumuku and Lycanroc sighed.

 **-000-**

"We'll take turns looking for eggs. Not much we can actually do with two people…" Incineroar said.

"Who said that you're the boss of me?" asked Togedemaru.

Incineroar groaned. "Don't fucking start. That's the only option we have!"

"No...we can BOTH go...and if we see that there's an egg gone, we take it back…" Togedemaru replied.

Incineroar groaned. "Just do what I say!"

"No…"

Incineroar growled, facepalming. "You know what...fine. If we fuck up, it's your fault. AGAIN."

"Get over yourself", Togedemaru replied.

 **000**

Once the ten minutes were up, they gathered themselves again and returned in front of Lunala.

"Alright. Your egg-citing challenge begins...NOW!"

"That...was awful", Dhelmise said.

Lunala growled. "JUST GO!"

Both teams ran to the Poni Wilds, leaving Dhelmise there.

"Didn't you hear me? I said-"

"I'm guarding…"

Lunala twitched before teleporting away.

"Like I thought…" he said, expecting her to leave after hearing that news.

 **000**

All of the competitors rushed there, with Lycanroc immediately finding one in a large tree knot and Hakamo-o finding one in the grass due to its red coloration.

Incineroar and Togedemaru, seeing their instant lucky, immediately ran to the direction of Ancient Poni Path. On the way, Incineroar found an egg amongst a pile of berries under a tree.

"Hey, an egg!" Incineroar noticed.

"Well go get it, cocksucker!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "And you can't get mad because it's true…"

Incineroar clenched his fists with an agitated expression as he stomped over to the tree and picked up the egg before throwing it at Togedemaru. She ran forward and dove for the egg, catching it with her needle. She sighed in relief.

"WHAT THE HELL, JACKASS?!"

"FUCK YOU!" Incineroar roared as he started walking forward.

Togedemaru growled. For such an intimidating looking guy, he sure was a sensitive pussy. No joke intended. Incineroar down the path that led to the ruins, tired of Togedemaru's mouth. She was as bad as Dhelmise. Why the hell did him being gay make it so that he got the corniest, annoying, and dumbest jokes made about him? He was sick of it.

On his way, he saw a few eggs sitting behind trees that were against a broken wall. He rose a brow and decided to go ahead and gather them all for Togedemaru. The little bitch could handle the lifting of the eggs.

He gathered the three eggs that he saw behind trees and, as Togedemaru came over, he walked toward her and gave her the three eggs, only for her to gape and struggle to hold them all.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" she exclaimed. "YOU KNOW I CAN'T HOLD ALL OF THESE!"

"You'd better go do them one or two at a time, bitch", Incineroar retorted. "This is payback for all of the shit talking and the fact that your dumb plan cost us the last challenge!"

"You're still pissy about that? Get over it! You're still here aren't you?!"

"Yeah, because of Dhelmise exposing Mudsdale!" Incineroar exclaimed. "I know for a fact that you were pitting her against me to get me out!"

"...That may be true", Togedemaru replied. "But at this point, I'm more concerned about winning! There's two of us and I have no idea how the hell we're gonna do an elimination if we lose. The one that's trying to get rid of you right now is Oricorio. It's a fifty-fifty chance for ei-"

"Whoa whoa whoa...did you just say that _Oricorio_ is trying to get rid of me?" Incineroar questioned in disbelief. "The bird that changes her mood and shit with nectar and is friends with Lycanroc and Hakamo-o?"

"Yep. It sounds like a lie, but it's not", she explained. "The bitch came to me in the buffet area and said that getting rid of you gives me a better chance at winning. EVEN THOUGH IT'S AN EQUAL CHANCE OF EITHER OF US GETTING ELIMINATED!"

"I don't believe you…" Incineroar replied.

"You've seen these shows dipshit. You know that it's true," Togedemaru explained. "And to anyone of you morons who are watching this. You saw what happened and you know it's true. If you ever sign up for these shows, you're gonna need to know when to trust and when NOT to trust. It's always the unlikely ones…"

"Gee...thanks for the meaningless warning," Incineroar said in a dry tone. "I doubt that any of the legends who run these shows even let their competitors have the same privileges as us. And you know that people who sign up don't even care and just follow with whatever they perceive as-"

Togedemaru gave him a look before Incineroar groaned to himself. "Crap…"

 **000**

"Alright, we've each got at least one…" said Hakamo-o, as she, Oricorio and Lycanroc held eggs. She had two, Lycanroc had two, and Oricorio just had one. "Well, minus Pyukumuku…"

"And I don't wanna hear Dhelmise's mouth, so…"

Lycanroc sighed. "Don't worry. "I'll take them back…" she said as she took Oricorio's egg.

"You sure?" asked Hakamo-o.

"We have to go ahead and get on the board…" Lycanroc explained. "Just give me the eggs…"

"If you say so…" said Hakamo-o. "We'll look for more…"

Lycanroc nodded as Hakamo-o handed her her two eggs. She carefully started walking back to the Pokemon Center while the other two continued looking.

 **-000-**

Dhelmise was on top of the Pokemon Center overlooking the competition as it unfolded. He wasn't going to say anything, he was just going to observe what they did. Specifically, he was eyeing Oricorio. He still couldn't believe that the bird had him in check. If he exposed her, he wouldn't be believed. If he didn't expose her, Hakamo-o gets eliminated if they lose. He was fine with that, as he didn't care about Hakamo-o anyway, but no one was going to get the drop on him. Especially not a self-produced MPD bird.

He noticed Lycanroc heading back in the direction of the nests and gained a bit of hope. Out of everyone left in the game, the only ones that he didn't dislike were Lycanroc and Pyukumuku, and he believed that they felt the same toward him. He had a feeling that Lycanroc wouldn't believe him because Oricorio was a friend, but at least he could get everything out without being paused or yelled at, which Hakamo-o would undoubtedly do.

When the wolf came around the corner, Dhelmise was waiting on her. Lycanroc saw that he was staring at her, and, after putting the eggs in their team's nest, she turned to him. "What's up, Dhelmise? Enjoying your job?"

"Well, I'm doing jack shit", he replied. "So, I suppose I'm finally fulfilling my life's purpose…"

Lycanroc giggled to herself, but realized that he wasn't laughing. She immediately stopped and rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Oh...you're serious?"

"No. I'm just not laughing…" he replied dryly. "But, I really need to talk to you about something…"

"Uh…" Lycanroc started, looking back in the direction of the others. "Can it wait? I need to get back."

"No, it really can't. It's something serious. I know you probably won't believe me, but you need to just know…" Dhelmise said.

"Uh...alright", Lycanroc said, taking a seat on the nest next to the eggs she brought. "What's up?"

Dhelmise huffed. "Well…" he started. "Oricorio came to me this morning saying that she was okay with what I did to Mudsdale because it got rid of two threats…"

"What?" Lycanroc questioned in a surprised tone.

"Oh wait, there's more," Dhelmise said, clearing his shaft. "She said that she wanted to get rid of Incineroar and Hakamo-o because they're threats, too. "

"Why are you telling me this?" Lycanroc asked, standing up abruptly.

"Because you're one of two people in this entire game who'd listen to me without threatening or yelling at me," Dhelmise replied. " As you've seen, not many people like me…"

"Okay, hold on. If this is true, why would she tell _you_ all of this?" Lycanroc asked, completely taken aback and confused.

"Because she knows that if I told you, Hakamo-o, or anyone else her little plan, no one would believe me because mostly everyone hates me here…" he explained. "And judging by your reaction, you don't believe me, either…"

"It's not that I don't believe you. It's just...I don't know WHAT to think!"

"Well, just keep it in mind anyway," Dhelmise replied with sigh. "Like I said, only you and Pyukumuku would listen to me. Plus, I may be a snarky jackass, but I'm not a liar…"

Lycanroc raked her mane back a bit out of stress before starting to walk away. Dhelmise groaned before calling her back.

"Lycanroc!" he shouted. The wolf turned back to him. "Don't mention it to her…"

Lycanroc just continued walking.

 **000**

" **Well. at least SOMEONE is informed now," Dhelmise replied. "Hopefully she believes me…"**

 **000**

" **He tells me not to mention it, but tells me all of that info?" Lycanroc said, questioningly. "He's right, he hasn't really lied here, at least not that I can remember. But it's still suspicious!"**

 **She groaned. "I'll monitor her behavior a bit and see what happens. I just can't believe that she'd do that!"**

 **000**

Pyukumuku was sitting on the beach, staring at himself in the water. He was still recalling the conversation that they all had on the seventh floor.

 **-000-**

" _Now, why are you so hostile and reserved when it comes to guys?" asked Lycanroc before popping a doughnut hole into her mouth._

" _I kissed Passimian! Doesn't that render this conversation null and void?!"_

" _No, because you no longer like him, isn't that right?" asked Lycanroc._

 _Hakamo-o didn't respond, she just blushed, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "Well. I still find him attractive in some aspects, but he's such a dumbass for exposing something that didn't even happen and toying with my emotions!"_

" _Oh...so you admit that you liked him the same way he liked you?" Incineroar asked with a smirk._

" _No. I barely knew him. He was just good looking and I've never had to deal my emotions before", Hakamo-o explained. "I fucking hated it!"_

" _Well, you can't be like this forever, chick. If you do, you'll never get the meat stick…" Oricorio said._

 _Hakamo-o growled, flushing in embarrassment. " Stop!"_

" _You need to get confidence!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "I mean, if you want to save yourself for marriage or something, that's a different story, but I haven't heard you say that once, so that's not a possibility…"_

 _Pyukumuku sat in silence as they continued, but eventually built up enough courage to speak up._

" _Maybe she's afraid of being taken advantage of?" he inputted._

 _Hakamo-o's eyes widened as she looked down and to the side. Seeing this, Lycanroc was surprised. "Pyukster...I think you're onto something…"_

 _Pyukumuku smiled._

 **000**

He was glad that he helped move the conversation forward and help out Hakamo-o. Well, somewhat help her, as the conversation had ceased when they were called down.

"I'm doing good. I'm doing good…" he said to himself before something floated over his reflection. It was an inner tube with an egg on it.

"Huh…" he said, picking it up. "Yay!"

 **000**

The sun started to set and it started getting darker and colder. Togedemaru and Incineroar still had the four eggs and were looking around the Ancient Poni Path.

The house that was sitting on the path had its lights on, signifying that either it was set up for them, or people actually lived there. The teammates exchanged glances.

"Should we check it out?" asked Incineroar, who was now holding the eggs.

Togedemaru walked forward without saying a word and tried opening the door, only for it to not budge. She continued trying, but got no results. "It's locked…" she said.

"Yeah, I can see that," Incineroar replied dryly. "What are we gonna do now?"

Togedemaru turned to the path along the left side of the house. "Hmm…"

She started walking down that path, causing the tiger to groan in annoyance and follow her. The path was clear and, looking at the house, it seemed like it was leading them to another part of the house.

Making it around the corner, they noticed an egg under a palm tree that was in the house's 'backyard'. "Nice…" Togedemaru said, picking up the egg and handing it to Incineroar.

The tiger growled, "Does it look like I can carry six eggs right now? I barely have a grip on these five!". One of the eggs slowly slid from under his arms as he said that and he readjusted himself.

"Well...get one of those palm tree leaves and use it to carry the eggs!" Togedemaru exclaimed, pointing to the leaves on the palm tree in front of them.

Incineroar groaned. "Fine!" he blustered, putting all of the eggs down. He reached up and snagged a few leaves off of the tree.

He placed them down and started bundling them until they were fine. He placed the eggs on them as Togedemaru walked to one of the two back doors.

"You think these are locked, too?"

Incineroar looked up after putting the last egg on the leaves and saw her facing the door next to them. "If the front door was locked, I'm pretty sure those doors are locked, too.

Togedemaru kicked the door, only for it to creak open. She turned to him with a look. "You were saying?"

"How the hell was I supposed to know?" he asked as the two started heading into the house. It was vacant, which was strange considering what Lunala said about normal Pokemon being trapped in their homes.

"You check the back rooms, I'll check in here…" Togedemaru said as they stood in the kitchen. Incineroar gave her a look. "Nah...how about YOU check the back rooms. I'll search up here…"

Togedemaru growled.

"You're not gonna distract yourself with more fo-"

Suddenly, a door was heard creaking open, causing Incineroar to stop mid-sentence. The two froze in place before hearing footprints coming in their direction from the back. The two stayed put, wondering if they'd be allowed to stay and search if they asked. Who didn't want to be on television, right?

The steps got closer and eventually, a green Godzilla-like monster came from around the corner with a shower cap on, a baseball bat, and a plate of waffles. Seeing the two of them, it immediately growled. "What the hell are you doing in my Get Away House?"

"Get Away House?!" Incineroar exclaimed. "Are you a criminal or something?!"

"No...I'm a host of a stupid reality show. The contestants get on my nerves, so whenever I have free time, I come here to unwind…watch TV...eat waffles…" he said before taking a bite of one. "Yeah…"

"Wait...you're the Tyranitar from THAT show?" Togedemaru asked, shocked.

"Yeah…" he replied. "Wait, are you a fan or something? Because the last fan meetup I went to alone resulted in me being handcuffed to a bedpost covered in maple syrup with my wallet missing…"

The two contestants stared blankly at him for a few moments.

"I...I'm not sure how to respond to that…" said Incineroar.

"Just consider us casual viewers," Togedemaru replied, wanting to get to the point. "Anyways, we just needed to check this house for eggs for a challenge…can we?"

"Challenge?" asked Tyranitar, taking another bite. "You two part of a show, too?"

"Uh...yeah...we're-"

Tyranitar's eyes widened when he finally realized. "OH CRAP! I FORGOT ABOUT LUNALA AND SOLGALEO'S SHOW! They're gonna kill me for being here!" he exclaimed in a panicked tone as he ran back to the back room.

"Wait, are you on bad terms with them or something?" Incineroar asked as he and Togedemaru followed him to the back.

"Oh...uh…" Tyranitar started. "Dragonite sorta pissed them off and they threatened to ruin our livelihoods if they caught us in their presence again!"

"Well...you done goofed…" Togedemaru commented.

"That meme is dead!" Tyranitar shouted as he quickly ran out of the house with a large garbage bag with waffles inside.

The two of them exchanged looks of confusion as they tried comprehending what the hell just happened.

"What just-"

"We met another shitty host of one of these shitty shows...deal with it and move on…" Togedemaru said as she entered the room he came out of.

Incineroar scratched his head in confusion.

 **000**

The Solgaleos continued looking around the Poni Wilds, finding numerous eggs amongst berries around trees and in the grass. The moonlight that was starting to shine down helped out a bit. Lycanroc noticed that it was a full moon and let out a cheerful howl.

"Lycanroc!" Hakamo-o shouted, stopping her search out of annoyance. "Not helping!"

"Sorry", the wolf whimpered. "Couldn't help myself…"

Hakamo-o shook her head, hiding a small smile. No matter how serious she was, Lycanroc could always put a smile on her face.

Oricorio was searching further away from the others. Their interactions brought a smile to her face as she continued looking. She felt a pang of guilt, but she reminded herself that she needed this to fund her career, which was much more important to her.

She peered on a cliff and saw an egg sitting there. They had gathered six more eggs since the five they initially got. This would bring their total to eleven. She kept marveling at the brilliance of her plan. If they lost, she convinces Pyukumuku to vote with her and Dhelmise, if the other team lost, either one going would be a good thing. She preferred Incineroar going, but still.

She flew up to the cliff and picked up the egg before flying back to the Pokemon Center. Lycanroc was the designated egg toter, but she just wanted to heckle Dhelmise a bit more. He was doomed anyway and no one would believe him.

As Oricorio flew toward the Pokemon Center with an egg, Lycanroc saw her and grew suspicious. She was the one who was supposed to do it anyway. As she got an egg as well from another tree knot, she decided to follow and see if anything transpired between her and Dhelmise.

 **-000-**

Oricorio landed in the nest next to Dhelmise, sitting on the eggs like a mother bird would. She sighed as she turned to him. Dhelmise glared at her as she looked down at the eggs.

"How does it feel to know that your choices are controlled by a choreographer?" Oricorio questioned.

"WANNABE choreographer", Dhelmise replied. "You know that you're not teaching anyone anything…"

"Uh huh, well if we lose and we get Hakamo-o eliminated, maybe when I win, I'll let you be a photographer…"

"...That doesn't correspond to choreography. You're just trying too hard to rhyme. Stop it…"

"Hey, this'll be beneficial to both of us," Oricorio said. "Incineroar and Hakamo-o are both threats and eliminating them will bring a change that is beauteous…"

"STOP IT!"

"Whatever…" Oricorio replied. "You'll thank me, later…"

She took flight back to the Poni Wilds, causing Dhelmise to groan. "Annoying bitch…"

Lycanroc, who was in the water next to the Pokemon Center, overheard everything and gaped in disbelief. Oricorio was...playing them? Dhelmise was right. The wolf climbed back onto the docks of Seafolk Village, her fur dripping as she shook herself dry. Dhelmise was surprised to see her.

"When the hell did you get there?"

"I saw her flying over and I was curious to what was gonna happen because of the info you gave me…"

"Wait, so you heard EVERYTHING?!"

"Yes," Lycanroc replied, tossing her egg into the nest. "I can't fucking believe that she'd do this! She's been plotting against us this entire time!"

"Correction, she's plotting against Incineroar and Hakamo-o. Not us…"

"You mess with my friends, you mess with me, too…" Lycanroc said in a serious tone, something Dhelmise didn't expect to hear. She started walking back to the Poni Wilds, leaving Dhelmise a bit happier.

 **000**

" **I'm asexual…" Dhelmise started. "But, I can admit.** _ **That**_ **was a bit hot…"**

 **000**

Hakamo-o noticed Lycanroc coming back with a rather upset look on her face. Concerned, she walked over still carrying her eggs. "What's the matter, Lycanroc?"

She looked behind Hakamo-o and saw Oricorio further back, searching the grass again before turning to Pyukumuku, who was still sitting on the beach.

"Come with me…" she requested, walking over to the beach, holding onto Hakamo-o's elbow.

Oricorio noticed the two of them moving to the beach, toward Pyukumuku. She was a bit suspicious initially, but knowing Lycanroc's personality, she was just gonna talk about something she didn't care about.

 **-000-**

"Pyukumuku, why have you just been sitting here?!" Hakamo-o replied.

"Plot device…" he responded. Both girls blinked in response.

"Now, what did you bring me over here for?" asked Hakamo-o.

Lycanroc glanced back over at Oricorio before turning back to them. " _We need to eliminate Oricorio…_ "

"What?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, alerting Oricorio, who looked over. Seeing them all huddled, she couldn't help but be very suspicious now. Were they planning something without her? She was going to find out.

"Dang it Haka! You've brought her over!"

Oricorio came over and landed next to them. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh nothing…" said Lycanroc. "Just telling them something stupid that Dhelmise said…"

Oricorio's eyes widened. Had he actually told Lycanroc when she went to put the eggs away? Or was it something else?

"Oh…?" she asked, holding her composure. "What'd he say? Something to get him gone..."

"Oh, he just said that Hakamo-o needs to be eliminated because she's a threat…" she explained.

She blinked in response before turning to the direction of him and looking back at them. "Uh huh…it's not gonna happen, but that makes sense. His idiocy has made me completely wince."

"I know right…" Lycanroc lied, rolling her eyes.

"In fact...I'm gonna go give him a piece of my mind…" she said, immediately taking flight. " _I'm gonna kick that anchor's behind!"_ she whispered to herself.

When she left, Lycanroc sighed in relief. "Like I was saying, she needs to go!"

"Why?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "If Dhelmise is talking about getting rid of me, why get rid of an ally?!"

"She's not an ally!" Lycanroc replied. "Dhelmise warned me that she planned on taking out you and Incineroar!"

Hakamo-o scoffed at the mention of Dhelmise. "You seriously believe him?!"

"I was a bit mixed, but when I left, I heard them talking. She said that getting rid of you and Incineroar was going to give her a better chance to win", she explained, causing Hakamo-o to take a few steps back. "I know. I couldn't believe it either…"

"So...she's not my friend?" Hakamo-o replied. "She just sees me as competition and nothing else?"

Lycanroc sighed. "I guess. I don't know her thoughts on the rest of us, but I know that you and Incineroar are threats in her eyes."

Hakamo-o growled. "Well, she's not gonna get away with it…"

"Okay," Pyukumuku replied.

 **000**

" **Okay. Now they know, too," Lycanroc said. "If we lose this challenge, it's bye bye fake friend…"**

 **000**

" **I'm not upset that Oricorio wanted me gone…" Hakamo-o replied. "I'm pissed at the fact that she had the nerve to actually try and befriend me. She got to know my strengths and my weaknesses. We shared good times. Now I know that those were all lies and she just wants me gone…"**

 **000**

" **I'm just going with the majority…" said Pyukumuku.**

 **000**

"How many eggs is this?" asked Togedemaru, tossing the next one onto the rest of the others.

"Uh...twenty-three…" Incineroar recalled

"Great…" said Togedemaru. "Let's head back to the nests. Maybe we'll find some that we overlooked on the way back…"

"Yeah, maybe…" Incineroar responded as he wrapped the leaves up like a grocery bag. The bag was a bit heavy, but he slung it over his shoulder to help himself a bit. Surprisingly, the leaves didn't budge.

"Come on…" Togedemaru replied as she started walking away, with Incineroar groaning as he followed.

 **-000-**

The two of them made it back to the Poni Wilds, where they saw the Solgaleos looking around for more eggs, albeit less exponentially.

They made it to the Pokemon Center, where they saw Oricorio attempting to attack Dhelmise numerous times.

They put their eggs in the nest, and Incineroar snagged three eggs from the Solgaleos' nest. Since the two were still distracted, Incineroar decided to take more eggs from their nest, eventually leaving them with only three.

Lunala returned to the Pokemon Center. "TIME IS UP!"

"Oh for fuck's sake! That wasn't two hours!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"Dialga keeps fucking with the time, so feel free to blame her…" Lunala explained. "Let's get you all back here…"

 **000**

Everyone was back in front of the Pokemon Center, where they saw the size difference between the nests!

"WHAT?!" the Solgaleos all shouted.

"We had over twenty eggs! What the hell happened?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Blame this bitch!" Dhelmise said, gesturing to Oricorio. "She attacked me for NO REASON and thing one and thing two got to steal our eggs!"

"Oricorio! What the hell?!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"My apologies...I'm just very passionate about my friends…" Oricorio said. "This bastard's time hear needs to end!"

"STOP. RHYMING!"

"Well, Solgaleos, you guys obviously lose…" Lunala said with a smile as the Solgaleos held faux looks of anger as the Lunalas high-pawed. "Let's head back to the hotel so you all can cast your votes. And I doubt that you'll need your ten minute deliberation…"

"You got that right…" Hakamo-o said, seething.

Oricorio smirked, while Dhelmise rolled his nonexistent eyes.

 **000**

" **Oricorio, you're gone…" Hakamo-o growled. "You're seriously making me keep Dhelmise in over you!"**

 **000**

" **Ori...you betrayed our trust. We're not just pawns…" Lycanroc said.**

 **000**

" **Oricorio…" Pyukumuku said. "Because...uh...yeah."**

 **000**

" **Bye bye bird brain…" Dhelmise said.**

 **000**

" **At this point, Dhelmise is gone, no doubt", Oricorio said. "Looks like getting rid of Hakamo-o won't be happening, so I'll pout. Oh well, at least we can still have some fun. Eventually, she'll still be done."**

 **000**

The five Solgaleos were all outside, waiting for the results. Oricorio was glaring at Dhelmise, who was just staring forward nonchalantly.

Lunala came out. "Alright. Reviewing the votes, it seems that Oricorio will be the one heading home tonight…"

"WHAT!?" Oricorio squawked, completely shocked.

"That's right feather freak, I told Lycanroc and then she heard you talking shit!" Dhelmise said smugly.

"Wait...you-"

"Ori...you were our friend," Lycanroc said. "How could you that?!"

Oricorio looked down. "I…I just wanted security! I know that with threats here, I'll never have a chance to have my dream!"

"Go to school, bitch…" Dhelmise replied.

Oricorio glared at him. "Fuck off!"

"Just tell me this…" Hakamo-o started. "Did you really consider us friends...or were you just toying with us?"

"I really do consider us friends. It's just...I really want my career to take off and I need money to start it off…" the bird replied. "I'm sorry if I've hurt you…"

"Alright, enough BS," Lunala said. "Time to go, Oricorio…"

Oricorio sighed as she flew toward the ferry terminal, with Lunala following. Pyukumuku and Dhelmise went back into the hotel; Lycanroc and Hakamo-o exchanged looks and followed the host and their 'friend'.

 **000**

" **None of them commented on the fact that she stopped the rhyming bullshit when she heard the news…" Dhelmise started. "FUCK! I COULD HAVE TOLD HER OFF!"**

 **000**

Oricorio sighed as she got on the boat. She noticed Lycanroc and Hakamo-o heading her way, making her look to the side.

"Sorry again guys…" she apologized.

"In a way, I could see where you're coming from, but come on. Now's not the time", said Hakamo-o. "Being a threat means nothing in these games. It's all chance."

"I suppose…"

"Well, see ya later, Ori…"

The boat started sailing away and the girls headed back to the hotel.

"And there you have it. Oricorio has been eliminated," Lunala announced. "What will happen in the next challenge? You'll have to stay tuned to find out. Right here, on Total...Pokemon...Alola!"

 **000**

 **And Oricorio's gone. She shows off a strategy and Dhelmise still got the upperhand thanks to Lycanroc. Togedemaru and Incineroar worked decently this time around, Pyukumuku is still adorable and facing a bit of social anxiety, which he'll hopefully get over. Hakamo-o got a bit of help in the male department and well...yeah. We're almost at the merge people! Get hyped! And there's gonna be a special coming up soon, so get hyped for that as well. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you guys next time on Total...Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Review if you want to just be right. If not, you're thoughts are gonna be out of sight…" Oricorio said.**

 **Stop rhyming!**

 **000**

 **Oricorio, in her Sensu Style, started performing a dance. She waved her fan wings and swayed back and forth before taking a sip of Red Nectar, switching to her Baile Style. She started salsa-ing before doing a backflip and turning into her Pa'u Style. She started slowly swaying back and forth. She twirled, turning into her Pom-Pom Style.**

" **As you can see, I have skills unmatched", Oricorio said. "Choose me and I swear I won't leave strings attached…"**

 **000**


	10. Episode 10: Berry Berry Dead

**THEY'RE EATING HER...AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO EAT ME. OH MY GOOOOOOD!**

 **000**

At the Hall of Legends, all of the legends that weren't currently at their island or hosting a show were sitting in the main lobby area of the vicinity. Arceus had called all of them there; she didn't explain why, but majority of the legends there were already annoyed.

Most of the guys had a movie marathon to get back to, and some the girls wanted to continue their conversation about the guys around the hall. The legends that weren't in either groups just didn't care about the reason they were there and just sat there in wait.

After almost half an hour of waiting in silence, Latios decided to break the silence. "So, uh...anyone have an idea why we're here?"

"If we did, don't you think we'd have said something by now?" asked Tornadus.

"You don't talk much…" Latios replied.

Tornadus didn't respond.

Soon enough, Arceus and Giratina appeared before everyone.

"Finally!" Darkrai exclaimed agitatedly. "What the hell do you two want?"

"Hello to you, too", Giratina replied, ignoring Darkrai's annoyance.

"Can you two just get to the point? We have things to get back to…" Cresselia spoke up.

"Like what? Most of you are single…" Victini commented, causing a few of the girls to glare at him. "Hey, it's true…"

"Victini. Hush", Arceus commanded. The fox folded his arms and grumbled to himself.

"Now, the reason I called you all down here is regarding the Guardian Deities and Ultra Beasts…" Arceus started.

"I know the Guardian Deities, but the Ultra what?" asked Celebi.

"The weirdos from the alternate dimension…" Mewtwo spoke up. "You know, the wire guy, the fatass, the roach…"

"Oh...right. _Them_ ," Celebi said, a bit of contempt in her voice.

"Yes, _them_ ," Arceus replied mockingly. "Now, I know that majority of you either don't care, don't know, or hate them."

"Guzzlord ate our entire fucking fridge the last time he was here!" Raikou exclaimed.

"Yes, I understand that, but I feel like we all need to get to know them all a bit better…" Arceus explained.

"Why don't you just have Solgaleo and Lunala do it?" asked Deoxys. "They're Ultra Beasts, too."

"Yes, they are both, but they already know them," Arceus explained. "The point is for you all to get along with them so that they're able to settle in here as well…"

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding…" Magearna groaned to herself.

"Why the hell are you upset?" asked Articuno. "You know them, too!"

"EXACTLY!"

"Why the hell are they moving here exactly?" asked Rayquaza. "We have enough people around here!"

"Yeah, don't they have a whole other dimension they're residing in?!" Suicune shouted.

"The Guardian Deities won't be staying here all the time. They'll just be around whenever they have free time…"

"I prefer them over the Ultra Beasts…" Palkia replied.

"Well, deal with it…" said Arceus. "Plus, with them moving in, this lovely hall with be expanding and being remodeled…"

Immediately, they all went silent and their eyes widened.

"Uh...say again?" Kyogre asked.

"Well yeah...with eleven more legendaries coming to live and semi-live here, we're gonna need a place much bigger. So, this place will be enlarged…" Giratina added.

Immediately the shouts in protest turned to excited cheers.

"Yep, so we'll all be spending the day on Melemele Island tomorrow while it's being redone," Arceus announced as most of the legendaries cheered. Well, except for Solgaleo and Lunala of course. The bat was extremely drowsy, being that it was five o'clock in the afternoon and she had been kept up since noon, but still shared the same look of shock as Solgaleo, who was fighting his incoming drowsiness.

 **-000-**

When the meeting was over, the two immediately went to the Alpha and Renegade Pokemon's shared room. After knocking numerous times, they were eventually let in, with Lunala slowly floating in behind Solgaleo.

"Oh, it's you two…" Giratina said. "How's the show going?"

"It's fine…" Solgaleo explained. "But why Melemele Island!?"

"Is that a problem?" asked Arceus.

"Well, yes! Our next challenge is being held on Melemele Island and we have a strict schedule dealing with the challenge locations!" Solgaleo exclaimed.

"Well...isn't this you guys' last challenge before the merge?" asked Giratina.

"Yeah…" Lunala yawned, but still as concerned as Solgaleo. "What does-"

"Let's see if they have the moxie to drive them there…" Giratina continued. "Have them deal with the legendaries not hosting their shows today. Really see who has what it takes to make it to the merge…"

The Cosmic Duo exchanged looks of unsurety. What about the challenge that was already planned. Just then, Solgaleo had an idea that'd be extremely beneficial. He knew that Lunala wouldn't like it, though.

"Wait...we can have the challenge at night again!" Solgaleo exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Lunala screeched in protest. "I have plans with Yveltal tomorrow night and you know it!"

"Yes, I know, but come on! Do you think the challenge will do well with all of these guys running around?!" Solgaleo exclaimed.

"Well, no, but I need-"

"How long is the reconstruction gonna take?" Solgaleo asked, cutting her off.

"It starts around 10 in the morning and ends at 10 at night…" Arceus replied with a stoic tone, annoyed at Solgaleo's desperation.

"See! They'll still be there!" Lunala screeched with a glare.

Solgaleo groaned.

"Why do you want me to be the one to do this next one?" asked Lunala. "You're perfectly fine…"

"Yeah, but I have a crossover special planned with _good_ Victini and he doesn't really know you that well…" Solgaleo explained.

"Uh...and why can't I be there?!" Lunala exclaimed.

"The schedule…." Solgaleo replied.

"I'm pretty sure we can break it at that time!" Lunala screeched with a glare. "Jackass!"

"Well SOH-RRY!"

"So, Solgaleo, you'll be the one to host your next challenge, following your schedule…" Arceus replied. "And the challenge after will feature both of you. Simple as that…"

"And you're just gonna have to deal with the others being around tomorrow morning…" Giratina added. "Hell, most of them don't even give a fuck about you guys' show, so you shouldn't be worried about anything."

Solgaleo groaned.

 **000**

Pyukumuku was on the seventh floor with Incineroar and Lycanroc. Oricorio's elimination didn't really have a huge impact on life in the hotel, but she was still semi-missed.

The three of them were watching Mission Impossible and enjoying themselves fully. However, once it ended, they started up another conversation. But, before they did, Incineroar had a question.

"So, uh...how's Hakamo-o been since Oricorio's elimination?" he asked.

"She's...still a bit upset about it," Lycanroc replied. "I mean, Haka and I are close, but I think she's gonna need some distance for a while."

"Well, not only did that bitch target me and her, she fucked up her social game…" Incineroar said with a sigh.

"Yeah…" Lycanroc replied. "But, I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Incineroar nodded in understanding. He decided to change the subject. "So...how's your love life been?" he asked curiously. "Outside of the game, of course…"

Lycanroc giggled with a blush.

"I'm still a virgin…" they both heard before turning to Pyukumuku with shocked expressions. Not because they couldn't believe it, but because it was so...sudden.

"Uh...well, that's new", Incineroar chuckled.

"Yeah…" Lycanroc chortled, picking up the little guy and putting him on one of her legs. "You'll get someone one day little guy," she said, scratching his head. Pyukumuku gurgled comfortably.

Incineroar chuckled. "You'd be great with kids…"

"Hey, I have two little brothers back home, I kinda have to be…" Lycanroc said with a smile. "Speaking of kids...are you and Lucario planning?"

"Um...I seem to recall asking _you_ something, first…" Incineroar said playfully.

Lycanroc smacked her lips. "Okay, fine. I've had my first kiss, but...I'm still a virgin. I think I told you guys before…"

"Well if you did, I don't remember…" Incineroar replied. "But still, that's...pretty great, but also weird. I never saw you as a slut, but it just seems like you have what any guy would want…"

"Yeah, what any guy would want, but the guys that approach me hardly ever have what I want…" Lycanroc replied, looking down a bit.

Incineroar raised a brow. "Well, what's your type of guy?"

"Well, that's kinda the thing. I don't know…" Lycanroc explained. "Probably someone like you or based on how you describe him, Lucario. Someone that's fun and easy to talk to. Playful. Cute. Protective. Abrasive when needed…"

"Oh…" Incineroar responded, understanding her thought process. She wanted a 'best friend' type of boyfriend. He and Lucario had been friends since they were young and now they're close to getting married; he knew that it didn't always end that way, but he had hope.

"Now, I seem to recall asking _you_ something…" Lycanroc retorted, folding her arms with a sneer.

"We haven't talked about it. Simple as that," Incineroar replied.

"Wow, so I give a detailed answer, and you just say 'we haven't talked about it'," Lycanroc said, shaking her head, giggling.

"Hey, it's the truth," Incineroar replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know if I want kids," Pyukumuku added, causing the two to stare at him before chuckling.

 **000**

Dhelmise felt really accomplished after Oricorio's elimination. Not only had he gotten rid of _three_ threats now, but...well, that was all he really did. He still felt good about it.

"If anyone's gonna screw with anyone, it's gonna be me," he told himself, hanging on his nail. He started thinking about the dwindling game in a more practical way. There were only six of them left, much to his enjoyment, but seeing who they were, he started thinking that Oricorio's plan could have worked well in _his_ favor as well.

"Oh well," he said nonchalantly. "One less annoyance to deal with."

He heard a knock on his door again and groaned. He wasn't gonna let whoever this was in; he learned his lesson from last time. He floated to the door and just stayed there.

"The last person who visited me got eliminated. Go away," he said before floating back to his bed.

"Dhelmise, open the damn door," it was Togedemaru.

Dhelmise _really_ didn't want to let her in considering he didn't like her, but there had to be a good reason for it. He started heading back to the door, but stopped halfway. With what he dealt with with Oricorio, this couldn't possibly be any better. Especially if it was Togedemaru.

"What do you want? I'm not letting you in…" he replied.

Togedemaru scoffed. "I don't want to be in your dumb room anyway," she replied. "I just want to talk to you and that's it."

"Last time I had someone say that, they annoyed the hell out of me…" Dhelmise replied.

"You're annoyed by anything, bastard," Togedemaru retorted with a deadpan tone. "You annoy the hell out of everyone else, too, so you can't complain…"

"Lycanroc and Pyukumuku are fine with me. Your opinion is invalid…" he riposted.

"OPEN THE DOOR!"

He opened it slightly before closing it. "Done…"

Togedemaru growled. "Fine! I wanted to talk a temporary alliance, but of you're gonna continue being a tool, then fuck you!"

"Ah, I don't need an alliance," Dhelmise responded haughtily. "We'll win the next challenge with Oricorio gone now. The only reason we lost the last challenge was because she distracted me and you two got lucky."

"Uh huh, sure…" Togedemaru replied. "We'll see about that…"

Dhelmise didn't hear anything else after that and just went back to his bed.

 **000**

" **Is everyone here a fucking moron?" Dhelmise questioned. "Because first, Oricorio just tells me everything, thinking it wouldn't backfire. Now, Togedemaru wants to create an alliance with me for Arceus knows why…"**

" **And alliance between teams consisting of two players is an awful idea because we're both on chopping blocks! There'd be absolutely no point!"**

 **000**

Hakamo-o was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Despite Oricorio's elimination happening days ago, she still felt hurt. Sure, they somewhat made up before she left, but it didn't feel that sincere. This was partially a reason that she didn't care about making friends; she had a feeling that something stupid or unconventional would happen and it'd cause her some sort of angst or sadness.

She hated showing sadness and vulnerability; it made her feel weak. The entire ordeal made her rethink her friendship with Lycanroc. If Oricorio was going for her, what if Lycanroc was doing the same thing? Sure, she warned her, but that was probably to keep her in her favor. The entire situation just made her paranoid.

"I don't know what to do… she said to herself. "Do I keep being friends with her or do I distance myself for my own safety?"

Then, she thought about the merge. The numbers were pretty down, being that only six of them were left. She could still be friends with Lycanroc in the meantime, in the merge, she could take her out. She couldn't take any chances.

 **000**

" **I don't know what to make of anyone anymore…" Hakamo-o admitted. "Oricorio doing that was unpredictable! I don't want to go through it again with Lycanroc if she's gonna be the same way…"**

" **I'll play along for now and...maybe talk to her?" she started. "She could lie, but, I'd at least like to hear that she wouldn't target…"**

 **A sudden realization hit her that brought a small smile to her face. "Wait, she's not interested in targeting ANYONE", she recalled. "She only went for Oricorio because she was upset, but when I mention targeting Pyukumuku or targeting someone in general, she looks sincerely worried!"**

" **Well...that's a crisis averted…" she said, wiping her head in relief. "Well, I know that I can trust** _ **her**_ **, but the rest of them are still wild cards. One thing I know for sure is that Dhelmise is gone the very next time we lose a challenge. Oricorio took his spot last time, but now it's a sure thing."**

 **000**

The next day

 **000**

It was 5:18 the next morning. Lycanroc was lying on the floor of the seventh floor, using one of the beanbag chairs as a pillow. She didn't know what time it was, but it felt really early. She didn't like waking up too early and groaned to herself. When she finally gained feeling in her sides, she felt a feeling of warmth against her and noticed that a large, familiar paw was resting on her thigh. She blushed and turned to look behind her.

Incineroar was there, sound asleep, with Pyukumuku sleeping near his tail, using it as a blanket of sorts. She knew that there was no chance of them getting together, but that didn't mean that she couldn't get a little _closer_. She blushed more and nuzzled into chest, feeling a sense of serenity overtake her as she dozed back off.

 **000**

" **Ugh, why does he have to be taken and gay?!" Lycanroc howled in distress. "He's so cute and warm!"**

" **I think I'm falling for him, but it's freaking wrong!" she exclaimed.**

 **000**

A couple of hours later, all three of them were starting to wake up. Incineroar's eyes flickered open and he groaned to himself, retracting his arm from whatever he had it on. He looked down and saw that his paw had been resting on Lycanroc's thigh the entire time. He didn't panic or anything, as he didn't really care. He was comfortable with his sexuality and Lucario knew that he wouldn't do anything. Especially with a female.

Lycanroc was attractive, yes, but Incineroar didn't find himself attracted to her in the slightest. The fact that she was snuggled up against him made him smile. He carefully sat up, so he wouldn't disturb her. It didn't work, though, as she whimpered slightly before yawning and opening her eyes.

"Good morning sunshine…" he commented jokingly.

"Haha…" she replied as she started standing up, popping her back. "Man, I should start sleeping in my room again. Sleeping on the floor so much is screwing with my back…"

"Yeah, same here…" Incineroar said, bending his back.

"Yeah, I'm sure _that_ 's the reason…" Lycanroc said with a smirk, making Incineroar blush.

"Hey, I haven't had sex since last Friday. I doubt that Lucario left _that_ big a mark…" Incineroar chuckled. "Plus, I'd be walking funny if he did…"

Lycanroc blushed upon hearing that. "Well...uh...I didn't know he was _that_ …"

Incineroar cut her off in an instant. "Forget that I said anything. Just forget it…"

"He's got a big meat stick," Pyukumuku said cheerily, causing Incineroar to groan and cover his face in embarrassment as Lycanroc started laughing.

 **000**

" **Arceus, I've got to stop bringing him up!" Incineroar exclaimed. "Sorry honey…"**

 **000**

Togedemaru sighed, as she was once again eating eggs, bacon, and toast, but drinking Nanab Juice this time around.

Dhelmise floated into the area, hoping that food was still there. Thankfully, there was. However, upon seeing Togedemaru's unusually small plate, he couldn't help but bother her.

"So…" he started, floating over, "...finally decided to stop stuffing your face with anything that's not moving?"

Togedemaru glared at him. "I wanna eat more than this, but it slows me down. I'm trying to stop eating so much…"

"Congratulations, you're gonna fail…" Dhelmise replied.

"Go fuck yourself," Togedemaru growled.

"So, the alliance offer is off the table?"

"Why? Do you want to-"

"No. Just toying with your desperation," Dhelmise cut her off.

"I'm not desperate," Togedemaru retorted. "I just wanted some security and an agreement before the merge! Which is likely going to happen next challenge or this challenge."

"Nah, I work alone, " Dhelmise said. "Plus, you're a fatass. I wouldn't be able to save you for long."

"I am NOT a fatass. I have high metabolism!"

"Like that makes a difference," Dhelmise said, rolling his nonexistent eyes.

"Just get the hell out of here!" the Roly-Poly blustered.

Dhelmise snickered. "Gladly…" he replied. "I'm just here for a pancake…"

As he floated over to the island, Togedemaru was curious. "Uh...how the hell do you even eat?!"

"That's my business and my business alone…" said Dhelmise as he got a pancake on a plate and started floating out.

Togedemaru rolled her eyes.

 **000**

1.5 hours later

 **000**

Majority of the legendaries were ready to set off to Melemele Island. Lunala was sound asleep in her room, insisting on just staying behind and cooperating with the builders when they got here. Solgaleo grumbled to himself, especially since Entei was still eyeing him seductively despite their deal. At least there wasn't any more inappropriate stalking.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:53. "Well...time for me to head off…" Solgaleo said to himself.

He teleported away from the group, leaving the remaining legends to converse. A grin formed on Victini's face after he watched him leave.

 **000**

"CONTESTANTS! BRING YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE!" Solgaleo exclaimed over the mic on the front desk. He groaned to himself. "I can't believe that all of the non-hosting legendaries have to go on the exact island that I'm hosting on! Why couldn't they go to Ula'Ula, Poni, or Akala!?"

"Wait...I should have said that yesterday. FUCK!" he roared. "It's probably too late to change their mind on the location. Arceus, fuck me..."

A few minutes later, the elevator opened and the final six competitors exited.

"Good morning…" he said in a faux cheery manner.

"Any morning with you is not a good morning…" Dhelmise retorted.

"Same with you…" Solgaleo replied. "Now, before we head to Melemele for your next challenge, there is something that you must know."

The contestants exchanged perplexed expressions. Solgaleo sighed. "Well, today, the Hall of Legends is being remodeled to accommodate the Ultra Beasts and Guardian Deities. So, the producers decided that while the remodeling is happening...all of the legendaries currently not hosting their competitions will be relaxing on Melemele until it is finished."

All of the contestants wore shocked and bewildered expressions. Had they heard him correctly?

"Who whoa whoa. Are you saying that the island we're supposed to be having a challenge on...is going to be infested with your sadistic friends?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Yes, but don't worry. We're gonna be done with the challenge pretty fast depending on you all's performance…" Solgaleo explained. "You won't deal with them for long."

"Hopefully," said Incineroar. "Some of them, I'm sure, are mentally unstable."

"Now, because I don't want to encounter them, today, I'm going to teleport us to the island and the area where the challenge will be taking place…"

"Finally. It took your fellow terrible brethren coming around for you to actually use common sense," Dhelmise replied.

"Ignoring that…" Solgaleo continued. "Let's get to the challenge site and hope that we don't encounter anyone."

 **000**

The contestants were all teleported to Route 2.

"Welcome to Route 2," Solgaleo introduced. The contestants looked around the part of the route they were standing in and were confused. There was nothing there.

"Uh...what the hell is supposed to happen here?" asked Togedemaru.

Lycanroc looked around and groaned. "This is near the cemetery…"

"CEMETERY?!" Incineroar exclaimed.

Dhelmise floated toward a sign next to Solgaleo to check if Lycanroc was correct. Seeing this, Lycanroc snickered. "Dhelmise. I live on this island. I know what's where…"

"Wait, you live _here_?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "You didn't let us know…"

"I'm trying to focus on my experience in the game…" Lycanroc replied. "And I didn't really think it mattered…"

"It doesn't," said Dhelmise as he floated back to the group.

"Alright, if you'll follow me, I'll explain your challenge," Solgaleo started as he began walking toward the cemetery. The contestants exchanged looks before hesitantly following him.

 **-000-**

They all entered the domain of death, but got the surprise of their lives upon seeing who was there already. Solgaleo growled to himself. There was an ENORMOUS set of bleachers in the furthest corner of the cemetery with numerous legendaries there. The kicker...they were all male.

Among them were Victini, Mew, Palkia, Raikou, Entei, Darkrai, Latios, Thundurus, Necrozma, and Volcanion.

"What is this, the sadist gallery?" Dhelmise questioned.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Solgaleo roared. "This island is huge enough for you to go ANYWHERE ELSE!"

"That's true, but I decided that it'd be much more entertaining to see how you handle your competitors…" Victini said with a smile.

"This was purely his idea…" Latios added. "We just went along because most of us are bored…"

The other guys nodded and grumbled in agreement, causing Solgaleo to twitch. "You guys...never showed real interest in the show before. Why start now?"

"We're not allowed back in the Hall until 10 PM…" Darkrai stated. "Deal with it…"

Solgaleo groaned.

"Just do what you normally do…" Volcanion stated.

Solgaleo took a breath before turning back to the competitors, who were all completely taken aback and perplexed.

"Okay. Just ignore them," Solgaleo started. "Today's challenge is a bit complex."

"I'm sorry, but after being exposed to all of this, complex is no longer a word I'd use…" Hakamo-o said, folding her arms.

"Pressurized", Pyukumuku said shortly after.

"I don't think that's the right context for that word, but whatever…" Solgaleo replied. "Call it whatever you want. Now, our interns have buried numerous items around this large area of land. Your goal is to find these items, and exchange them for berries. Each item you find is worth a different amount of berries…"

"Whoa whoa...you've lost me," Raikou interjected from the sidelines. "What specific items and what are the berries for?"

"I'm pretty sure he was going to get to that, thundercat," Necrozma said with a glare.

"What even are you!?" Raikou retorted, causing the Prism Pokemon to tighten his glare.

"Anyways!" Solgaleo exclaimed, bringing everyone's focus back onto himself. "When you find your items, you must take them out of the cemetery, where you will find A. Ratt, who will give you berries depending on the items you have. Once you have those berries, you must rush to Verdant Cavern, and at the entrance, you will find two bins. One white and one purple. The white is for the Solgaleos and the purple is for the Lunalas."

"There are seventy-five items hidden around here and the challenge will end when all of them are found," the lion continued. "The team that has the most berries by the end will win."

"Okay, and what the hell are the items?" asked Incineroar.

"Protectors, King's Rocks, and Dragon Scales," Solgaleo said with a groan. "Protectors are worth 1 berry, King's Rocks are worth 10, and Dragon Scales are worth 100. And yes, as you can probably guess based on how much they're worth, Dragon Scales are the rarest ones. I had the interns only bury five of them. The rest are half and half King's Rocks and Protectors."

"Geez, that is a crap ton of bullshit…" Thundurus commented.

"Welcome to the show, scrub…" Darkrai retorted, causing the Bolt Strike Pokemon to glare back.

"Alright. You've gotten your information," Solgaleo continued. "Now, for your digging tools…"

"Yes, we need shovels, of course…"

"Actually, as an advantage for winning the last challenge, the LUNALAS get shovels," Solgaleo said as two shovels appeared next to Incineroar and Togedemaru.

"Oh come on, that's bullshit!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "No one mentioned advantages for winning previous challenges since the dancing and fishing challenge!"

"Well, Lunala did one, and now so can I…" Solgaleo retorted.

"Well, what do we get?" asked Pyukumuku.

The clattering of metal was heard as four silver spoons dropped onto the ground in front of them.

Lycanroc picked up one of them. "Oh this is just cruel…"

"You losers lost! Take your lumps," Entei shouted.

"Quiet you!" Solgaleo roared, which made Entei wink at him with a smile. He twitched again and growled. "Your challenge begins now," he said as he walked off, grumbling to himself.

The contestants watched him leave before turning back to the peanut gallery of legends.

"Well, you heard him. Get to work!" Darkrai exclaimed. "You're our entertainment for today…"

The contestants exchanged nervous looks, but decided to get started, ignoring the legends.

 **000**

"This is the dumbest thing that I've ever experienced…" Hakamo-o commented, using her claws to dig around the cemetery.

Pyukumuku was using a spoon, while Dhelmise was using his ghostly abilities to dig things up quickly. Lycanroc was the only one not doing anything. It just wasn't right. It was a cemetery for Arceus' sake! A few of her relatives were buried here, too, and she wasn't going to let any area around them be desecrated.

Hakamo-o noticed that Lycanroc wasn't doing anything and instead was holding a rather passive expression. She was confused and also a bit suspicion now. She cleared her of any suspicion regarding targeting, and she hadn't done anything to insinuate that she was up for sabotage.

She growled to herself. " _Don't jump to conclusions. Talk to her…"_

She took a breath and stopped digging just as Dhelmise dug up a King's Rock. "First blood!" he announced as he started floating out of the area.

Hakamo-o rolled her eyes before she saw Lycanroc sit down in front of two graves in the right furthest row they were searching. She slowly approached her as Pyukumuku continued digging with his spoon.

"What's the matter?" Hakamo-o asked softly, kneeling down to her level.

Lycanroc turned to her momentarily before sighing and turning back to the graves. "My grandma and uncle are buried here…" she revealed, causing Hakamo-o's eyes to widen in disbelief.

"Wait, they're really-?" Hakamo-o started before the wolf pointed at the graves before her. She swallowed in sudden discomfort. "Oh. I'm...I'm sorry, Lycanroc…"

Lycanroc sighed. "No, it's fine. My grandma died seven years ago and my uncle died five months ago…" she explained. "But, I don't want anyone to dig over here, if you don't mind."

Hakamo-o nodded, patting her on the back before rising back to her feet and going back to her hole.

 **-000-**

Incineroar noticed his friend kneeling on the ground in front of a few graves and grew concerned. He had already dug up the grave closest to the entrance and found a couple of King's Rocks and a single Protector. That was 21 berries right there. He handed them off to Togedemaru, who immediately headed off.

He started walking towards Lycanroc, ignoring more heckling from the legendaries watching.

"Aw...going to check on your girlfriend on the other team?" Victini mocked. "Your team literally consists of two people! I think you should focus more on the challenge…"

"She's not my girlfriend, asshole!" Incineroar roared back as he made it next to her. "Hey…" he greeted softly, putting a paw on her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied with a smirk as she nuzzled him. She sighed shortly after. "I just don't think I can do this challenge. These are people's relatives! We can't just dig them up. It's disrespectful."

"I understand," Incineroar replied with a nod. "But, I think that the cemetery would go back to how it was initially when the challenge ends…"

"Sure, but, I just wouldn't help but feel guilty anyway," she explained. "Plus, my grandma and uncle are here. I just can't do it!"

Incineroar hugged her close. "It's fine, sweetie. If you all end up losing somehow and they choose to eliminate you for having a heart, they're gonna have to deal with me…"

Lycanroc sighed in relaxation, a small smile on her face. When the hug ended, she couldn't help was frown slightly as he started walking back to the section where he and Togedemaru were digging.

As he went back to his shovel, Incineroar couldn't help but notice Lycanroc staring at him with a rather mixed expression. She was smiling a bit, but her eyes had a look of sadness. He started digging again, eventually making it five feet below the ground.

"Hey, Tony the Tiger!" the Heel Pokemon heard from in his hole. He growled and pulled himself up and out of it. He turned to the legendaries, where he was sure the insult came from.

"What?" he asked abrasively.

"You wanna explain why you're acting you're afraid to fuck the wolf?" Darkrai questioned.

"I'm not afraid. I just consider her more as a friend than anything," Incineroar replied, taking his shovel out of his hole, as he hadn't found anything else buried where he was.

"And why is that?" asked Latios. "Are you gay or something?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Since that was your first thought, I'm guessing that means that _you_ are gay…" Incineroar retorted as he started digging at the grave directly beside the first one.

Latios blushed and growled at him as the other legends snickered and laughed. "He got you pegged and you didn't even have to admit it!"

"Fuck off!"

Incineroar grinned to himself and continued digging.

 **000**

Dhelmise had already teleported the berries he received to the bin at Verdant Cavern and was heading back to the cemetery, while Togedemaru was running as fast as she could toward Verdant Cavern, dropping berries along the way.

"I should have made him get the berries. His arms are bigger!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

She eventually made it to the outside of the cavern where the bins were and sighed in relief as she dropped them all into her team's bin. She looked at all of the berries in the bin and her mouth watered a bit as her stomach growled. She bit her lip and looked around.

"Well...one berry couldn't hurt," she told herself as she reached down and picked up a Sitrus Berry. "Plus, it's healthy."

She popped the berry in her mouth, allowing the juice to burst in her mouth. She swallowed it with a smile and shuddered. She stared back down into the bin and looked around once more. "Another one wouldn't hurt…" she said as she pulled out a Razz Berry and started gnawing on it before actually starting to walk away.

 **000**

All of the contestants continued digging with the legendaries that were there watching with bored expressions.

"Come ON," Victini whined. "This is boring as hell! There needs to be some explosions or cannons, some type of hindrance!"

"Hey, he left," Mew replied. "Maybe you can do what you want."

Victini gained an evil grin and suddenly, a large cannon appeared next to them that was aimed at the contestants.

"This...should be eventful…" Latios said with a smile.

 **000**

Hakamo-o dug up two more Protectors just as a soccer ball zoomed past her face. "What the he-" she started before getting hit in the gut with a bowling pin.

Growling, she saw the cannon firing next to the legendaries and clenched her left fist. She dodged a few tennis balls from the cannon, rushing toward Lycanroc. "Here, you be the one to take the items and get the berries…"

Lycanroc nodded as she took the Protectors and started running out of the cemetery, dodging the items that were there.

"Hey! AIDS Incarnate! Lay off!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "This ain't your show!"

"We can do what we want. We're better than you!" Necrozma retorted.

 **000**

" **Just as egotistical as ever…" Dhelmise muttered. "If I wanted things to be shot at me, I would have been a porn director!"**

 **000**

Incineroar dug up a few more Protectors, three to be exact, and saw a coffin that seemed to be disturbed. Were the interns that bold as to disturb an actual coffin? Opening the coffin, he jumped back, seeing a corpse of a Meowth with a King's Rock on its head. The corpse had decaying flesh on it and smelled extremely bad.

Incineroar gagged to himself didn't want to touch it at carefully examined it and slowly reached for the King's Rock, only for the corpse to lunge upward, making Incineroar fall back in shock.

The corpse laughed creepily before lying back in the coffin. "What...the fuck?" he growled as he got back on his feet.

He approached the smelly body and, upon further inspection, noticed a tag on its tail. It was a doll. Growling, he slashed off its head before taking the King's Rock off of it.

Just as he climbed out of the new hole, dodging a basketball to the face, Togedemaru re-entered the scene. Upon seeing the cannon, she growled and immediately used Thunder on it, causing it to malfunction and stop working.

"Hey!" Entei growled. "That was our source of added entertainme-"

"Shut up, you're all just lazy, dumbass spectators!" Togedemaru exclaimed, walking over to the newly dug-up items from Incineroar and carrying them back off.

"Thanks…" Incineroar said as he dusted himself off.

"Whatever…" Togedemaru replied as she left.

 **000**

Solgaleo groaned as he plopped on the beach, where most of the female legendaries and few of their spouses were relaxing. The others noticed his demeanor and couldn't help but question him.

"So uh...why so glum?" asked Meloetta as she lied out on a beach chair with sunglasses on.

"You realize that some of the guys are fucking with my contestants and my show, right?" he replied.

"Well, that's to be expected at this point…" Rayquaza spoke up, coiled next to Zygarde. "When they get bored, they stoop to their irritating habits. Especially when it comes to these competitions and pain in general."

"They never gave a damn about the show before, but now they're just heckling me," Solgaleo replied. "It may have just started but it's still annoying as all shit!"

"Well, just do what the rest of do…" Celebi started.

"And that is?"

"Assert yourself...or ignore them," Kyogre replied. "They thrive on reactions for the most part. Who all is there?"

"Uh...Necrozma, Darkrai, Victini, Mew…" he listed, " _Entei_ , Raikou, Latios, Thundurus, Volcanion, and Palkia…"

"Oh, so the usual bunch of misfits, minus Keldeo and Genesect…" Articuno acknowledged.

"Hey!" Genesect exclaimed as he played in the sand.

"You know that it's true," Virizion said, speaking up.

"You're sharing Cobalion with Xerneas. I don't think you have room to talk, missy…" Genesect retorted.

"My life goal is completed…" Keldeo stated as he was buried in the sand in a taco sculpture. "I have BECOME a taco."

"Seriously, what the hell did you ever see in him?" Jirachi asked to Suicune, who rolled her eyes.

"So...ignore them, huh?" Solgaleo asked, getting everyone back on track.

"It works like a charm," Celebi said. "Victini acts like a jackass for attention, Mew is just Mew, Palkia, Darkrai, and Necrozma don't really give a shit, Volcanion loves pain, Latios is just mad that no one loves him, Raikou is a smart idiot, Entei is a horny grouch, and Thundurus is just a follower."

"Jeez, the way you list them makes it seem like you've dated them all…"

"Hush, you," Celebi responded.

Solgaleo sighed. "Well, I'm just gonna go back and hope that they haven't screwed with my contestants that badly…"

"Knowing that Victini's there...you should expect the worst…" Xerneas replied.

"Thanks!" Solgaleo said sarcastically as he headed back to Route 2.

 **000**

When we last left the competitors, they were still digging for evolutionary items while legendaries heckled them and tried to make things more fun for their own amusement. Each time was able to get more items, specifically the Protectors and King's Rocks. No Dragon Scales had been found yet.

Pyukumuku had been digging in his same spot with the spoon since the challenge started. He was getting particularly bored with it, which was unusual for the little guy. He threw the spoon down and sighed. "This challenge is hard…" he said frustratedly.

"No, I don't think that's the case…" Volcanion spoke up. "You're too small and weak to do anything."

"Oh...right," Pyukumuku said, not really taking any offense to Volcanion.

"Ignore the idiots, Pyukumuku," Hakamo-o said as she continued to dig. "They're not gonna do anything but distract us…"

"Hey, a little distraction goes a long way!" Raikou added.

"Fuck off!"

Solgaleo re-entered the scene, with the contestants sighing in relief and the legendaries groaning in disappointment.

"I thought you were leaving them unattended like we do…?" Mew asked.

"I was, but then I remembered that you fucks are here," he retorted as Lycanroc ran past him with three King's Rocks. He turned to the contestants. "How've things been going?"

"Well, we have no progress on the Dragon Scale, but we've been going through hell thanks to your little friends over there," Incineroar explained. "Cannons, heckling, slingshots, tennis ball launchers, baseball launchers. It never fucking ended!"

"What the hell? I wasn't even gone _that_ long!"

"I'm pretty sure forty minutes counts as long…" Latios replied.

Solgaleo didn't respond and remained focus on his competitors. "Well, keep it up. I'm not leaving this time, so there won't be any bullshit…"

"Wow, you're actually making us think that you care," Dhelmise said. "Very nice move…"

"Dhelmise, I swear…" Solgaleo started threateningly.

Togedemaru came back to the scene, wiping her mouth as Incineroar took out another Protector. The Roly-Poly Pokemon groaned. "We're gonna need more than just that!"

"Don't you think I know that!?" Incineroar blustered as he continued digging.

"The middle of the cemetery hasn't been fucking touched!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "Go dig there! Or dig near corners! There has to be more!"

Hearing this, Incineroar climbed out of the hole he was creating and grumbled as he made his way to the middle of the cemetery. Togedemaru followed him over to the middle and, as he started digging, a fountain of oil sprayed from the ground, coating both of them in the black substance.

"What the FUUCK!?" Incineroar roared.

"I forgot to mention that the interns also placed traps and pranks underground, too," Solgaleo said sheepishly. "Sorry…"

"Like we're supposed to believe you…" Dhelmise replied as he continued digging, flinging the dirt in the Lunalas' direction.

An object landed on Incineroar's head before falling off. Incineroar rushed away from the oil, spitting out the liquid and wiping it out of his eyes. He looked down and saw a completely black King's Rock at his feet.

He looked over to Togedemaru and picked up the King's Rock before handing it to her. He then picked up the Protector and gave it to her as well. "GO!" he exclaimed as he picked up his shovel and moved away from the spraying oil just as it started slowing down.

Togedemaru rubbed the oil out of her eyes before grabbing the objects and heading out of the cemetery.

 **-000-**

"Now _this_ is entertainment…" said Necrozma.

"Go fuck yourself, prism boy!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she continued digging, only to be sprayed in the face with foam soon after.

Most of the legends laughed as the Scaly Pokemon wiped off the foam and bared her teeth. She continued digging, eventually digging up another Protector. She groaned in annoyance before simply sighing. Any points were good points.

Pyukumuku had made his way to an area that hadn't been searched yet and started using his innards to dig. Within a couple of tries, he actually dug up-

"Ooh...pretty scale," he said, picking up a Dragon Scale. He wriggled his way back over to the Dhelmise and Hakamo-o with the scale in gut-hand. They both gasped in shock.

"Nice!" Hakamo-o complimented. "Now we just need Lycanroc to come back!"

"Screw that!" Dhelmise said, taking the Dragon Scale and Protector as he floated out of the area.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc had to get a basket to hold the thirty berries she got for the three King's Rocks and was now heading back to return it and get more items to exchange. She was hoping that the cemetery wouldn't get as damaged as she thought that it would. When she returned to the stand where A. Ratt and the berries were, she noticed Dhelmise floating back with a large cart full of berries.

"Whoa, what's all this?" Lycanroc asked, amazed.

"Pyukumuku found us a Dragon Scale!" Dhelmise explained. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

The Sea Creeper continued on as Lycanroc went up to the stand and returned the basket before heading back to the cemetery.

 **-000-**

Togedemaru was still at the bins outside of Verdant Cavern. Currently, she was eating berries out of BOTH bins, the sweet and tangy fruits causing her to shudder from the great taste. She was covered in berry juice, in combination with the oil.

"Man, I missed eating like this…" she said, taking another berry from the Solgaleos' bin. She immediately spit it back out. "BLEHCH!" she exclaimed. "First sour one of the bunch!"

She reached into her own team's bin and felt...nothing. Her eyes widened as she looked inside the bin and saw absolutely nothing left. Only the small leaves that were left after she ate them.

"Oh no…" she whispered to herself. "DAMN IT, STOMACH!"

She quickly started throwing berries from the Solgaleos' bin into the Lunalas' before running off.

 **000**

" **Okay, hopefully nobody notices…" Togedemaru said, her body still stained from the juice and oil. She groaned. "I need my A-game back! Food keeps fucking me over!"**

 **000**

Togedemaru returned and saw four protectors and two King's Rocks next to yet another hole dug by Incineroar. She walked over to the hole, slipping on a bit of the oil still on the ground on the way.

When she got there, Incineroar was suddenly launched upward in a cloud of smoke. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"And so the madness continues…" Palkia said nonchalantly.

Togedemaru picked up the items and scurried back out of the cemetery. Incineroar landed back on the ground with a squeak as he landed on a gravestone. The peanut gallery erupted in laughter as the tiger groaned and rolled back onto his stomach.

 **-000-**

"Incineroar!" Lycanroc barked as she rushed over to check on him.

"NO!" Dhelmise said, getting in her way. "No time to help the enemy. We got three more Protectors that need to be exchanged."

"Come on!" Lycanroc urged.

"Look, we need you to focus on our team right now. Worry about him AFTER we win!" Dhelmise stated, floating the three Protectors into her arms.

Lycanroc sighed, but obliged. When she saw Incineroar get back on his feet, she was more confident.

Seeing her emotions toward him, Dhelmise gained a smirk.

 **000**

" **Hmm...it seems like Lycanroc** _ **really**_ **cares about him," Dhelmise said. "I may be able to have fun with this…"**

 **000**

Pyukumuku went to check on Incineroar, who was holding his back. "You okay?" he asked.

"No," he asked in a pained tone. "Fuck this stupid challenge!"

Pyukumuku climbed up his body, surprising the Heel Pokemon.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Incineroar, uncomfortable with the sea cucumber gripping different parts of his body.

He got on his head and they both started to glow. Incineroar was surprised, and eventually started feeling great! When the glowing stopped, Incineroar let out a glad roar. He took Pyukumuku off of his head and held him in his left hand.

"Thanks," he thanked.

"No problem," he replied chipperly.

"Come on! Healing the enemy?" Victini exclaimed. "Solgaleo, your show blows!"

Solgaleo didn't respond, he just continued observing his contestants' actions and what they did. Watching in the vicinity gave him a limited view, but it felt much more connected than just watching from numerous screens.

Incineroar looked back into the hole he got launched out of and found a Protector sticking out of the wall of the hole. He leaned down and yanked it out before handing it to Pyukumuku. "My way of saying thanks…"

"Thanks!" Pyukumuku said gratefully as he took it. Incineroar put him back down and slinked back over to the others, who watched the entire scene.

Incineroar sweatdropped.

 **000**

" **Okay...I know I said that I was going to be a jackass and fuck everyone and just be in this for myself, but I can't go through with it," Incineroar spoke. "You all probably knew this by now. Don't go rubbing it in. I wasn't expecting to get along with these people."**

 **000**

Hakamo-o was digging next to the area where Lycanroc's folks were buried. She wasn't going to mess anything up. Well, she thought. Digging next to them, she found a black box with a red laser across it. Her eyes widened.

 _BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!_

Hakamo-o was knocked back, into Incineroar, who fell back as well. There was large crater where Hakamo-o just was. The two of them looked at the carnage and saw that there were numerous items around now, but four gravestones, including Lycanroc's uncle and grandma, were gone.

"O...M...A…" they said simultaneously.

"Well...that's uh…" Dhelmise started. "That's bad."

Immediately, everything was back to how it was with help from Mew. He couldn't help but fix it. "What the hell Mew?!" Victini exclaimed. "Why did you fix it?! Seeing her reaction would've actually saved this wreck of a challenge!"

"Dude, that's fucked up. Even for you," Mew replied.

"Wuss…" Victini commented, as he threw a small explosive at the gravestones again.

"No!" Incineroar exclaimed, catching it, only for it to explode in his hands and launch him into the graves, knocking over the gravestones.

"Oh crap, Incineroar!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she and Pyukumuku rushed to him. Dhelmise just watched, not wanting to get involved.

Incineroar groaned and sat up, seeing that the tombstones were now shattered. His eyes widened. "YOU JACKASS!"

"Oh get over it…" Victini said, rolling his eyes. "We can fix it later…"

"No...you are going to fix it NOW!" they all heard. They turned to the entrance/exit and saw Lycanroc, who had a look a complete and utter anger. Her paws were clenched and she was breathing shallowly, fighting back tears.

"See, told ya it'd save this challenge," Victini said before being buried by a ton of rocks and impaled by others.

"FIX IT!" Lycanroc growled angrily, tears starting to stream from her eyes.

The legendaries exchanged looks as Victini moved the rocks away. Mew immediately fixed the scene again, with Victini growling.

Incineroar and Hakamo-o walked over to their friend, with Incineroar hugging her and Hakamo-o rubbing her back.

"You know what...the challenge today is over," Solgaleo said.

"Say what now?" asked Dhelmise.

"You heard me. The challenge fucking done," Solgaleo said. "I'm not gonna just let these bastards piss you guys off for their own amusement."

"Aw...poor wittle kitty is mad…" Victini mocked. "No wonder your show's a flop."

"Nobody even cares about your irrelevant ass show anymore!" Solgaleo roared in retaliation. "Come on…" he told his contestants as they followed him out.

"You just had to act like a dickwad…" Palkia said.

"Look who's talking, dickhead!"

 **000**

All of the contestants made their way to Verdant Cavern to find out who won. Upon reaching the area, they all froze at what they saw. Togedemaru was sprawled on the ground, both bins overturned and most of the berries gone.

"What the-w-HOW?!" Incineroar exclaimed.

Togedemaru belched in response, unable to use words at the moment.

"Well, isn't this great?" Dhelmise asked sarcastically. "Now neither team wins. Meaning that was all for nothing!"

Pyukumuku slinked forward toward the hedgehog and the bins. He tilted both of them back upwards. "That's better…"

"That accomplished jack shit…" Dhelmise commented as Solgaleo walked over with a sigh. He peeked into each bin and saw that there were three berries left in the Solgaleos' bin and two left in the Lunalas' after Pyukumuku adjusted the bins.

"Alright. Looks like the Solgaleos are the winners!" Solgaleo announced.

Nobody cheered, instead, Hakamo-o and Lycanroc looked at Incineroar, who looked agitated. "Of fucking course…" he growled.

"So uh...how's that gonna work for them?" asked Hakamo-o.

"Well, since I just want to get the hell out of here, I'm gonna say that you guys will decide," Solgaleo said. "This entire day has been fucked anyway, so why not continue it?"

 **000**

They all returned to the hotel and stood in front of the dock. The elimination boat was already there and Togedemaru and Incineroar were standing in front of it. The Solgaleos were all standing before them, with Solgaleo looking from the side.

"Alright Solgaleos, you each will get one vote," said Solgaleo. "They each already have a vote for each other, so it's your job to determine it. Even though I'm sure that everyone knows who's going to leave…"

Togedemaru glared at him.

"Alright. Pyukumuku, you first," Solgaleo directed.

"Incineroar!" Pyukumuku cheered.

Incineroar was shocked.

"Uh...Pyukumuku, we're voting for who goes home!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"Oh...sorry. Togedemaru, then."

"Alright then…"

"Hey that's no fair, she corrupted him!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"Bitch, no one's corrupted anybody. Hush," Incineroar replied, folding his arms as Togedemaru growled.

"Lycanroc?" Solgaleo continued.

"Togedemaru goes…" Lycanroc said, giving Incineroar a small smile. He returned it immediately.

"Alright...that's three for Togedemaru and still one for Incineroar. One more vote and Togedemaru is gone…" Solgaleo announced.

"No shit, Sherlock…"

Solgaleo glared at him. "Hakamo-o?"

Hakamo-o sighed. "Look, I understand that I've gotten along with everyone EXCEPT Togedemaru and Dhelmise, but I'm not gonna let friendship influence the competition. I still like and respect him in every way, but...I have to vote for Incineroar…"

"WHAT?!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "Haka, why?!"

"He's a threat! I'm not trying to hurt either of you, but-"

"You're just thinking about yourself?!" Lycanroc exclaimed in shock. "I thought...I thought that you were better than that!"

Hakamo-o looked down, disheartened. "I'm sorry…"

"Welp, I guess that makes this easier," Dhelmise said. "I vote Incineroar, too. Just because I feel like it…"

"I WILL CREMATE YOU, PLANT BOY!" the tiger roared, prepared to attack him.

Solgaleo roared, getting their attention. "Well...I wasn't expecting a tie…" he admitted.

Lycanroc glared at Hakamo-o, folding her arms.

"But, because it _was_ a tie-"

"Let me guess, you're gonna do some stupid third challenge that's gonna be completely one sided so that one of them automatically loses?" Dhelmise asked.

"What? No!" Solgaleo exclaimed. "I don't have time to plan another challenge."

"It's only 1:13-"

"In other words, I don't give a shit," Solgaleo said in better terms. "I'm just gonna be blunt and get it over with. Togedemaru, get the fuck out."

"WHAT?!" the Roly-Poly Pokemon exclaimed.

"Bitch, were you seriously surprised at all?" asked Dhelmise. "Wussy hosts like him always choose to keep the good guy. It's the status quo…"

"I thought that was the opposite-"

"Pyukumuku...hush."

"This is completely unfair! I demand a fair final challenge!"

"Okay...rock, paper, scissors for it…" Solgaleo said.

"Better than bias!" Togedemaru said, turning to the tiger, who was agitated.

"Are we being serious right now?" asked Incineroar. "She-"

"Just get it over with, Fag and the Furry-ous…"

"I WILL TEAR YOU APART AND LEAVE YOUR BODY FOR THE MANDIBUZZ!"

"Yeah, good for you…"

Incineroar twitched as he kneeled down to Togedemaru's height. "This is fucking stupid…"

They shook their hands three times. Incineroar had paper, and Togedemaru had-

"Wait, I don't-"

"Exactly. You lose. Now LEAVE!" Solgaleo exclaimed. "You're the one that made your team lose anyway!"

"Go fuck yourself," Togedemaru grumbled as she stomped onto the boat and plopped down.

"And there we go…" Solgaleo said as the contestants just headed back to the hotel. "We're down to final five. Sorry for today's episode. Everything and everyone was just batshit crazy and irritating. But, what will the final five have to go through next time? Find out next time, right here, on Total...Pokemon...Alola!"

 **000**

 **And Togedemaru is gone! Wow, Dhelmise was right; anyone who visits him DOES get eliminated. This chap was just completely nonsensical. I wanted to do something mostly comical and different and...I have no idea how this turned out, in all honesty. We're down to the final five. WOOOO, and apparently they are all fan favorites. I actually pre-planned everything, so don't think that I did this just because. I can feel you doing it anyway, STOP IT! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total..Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Read and review…" Togedemaru said before looking offscreen. "Alright, I said the dumb shit. Give me my doughnuts!"**

 **000**

 **Togedemaru spun around in a damaged swivel chair to face the camera. However, it went too far and she had to readjust it so that it was facing the cameras. "Now, I know what you may be thinking. What do I have, that other candidates might not?"**

 **She picked up a pizza box and took out a knife among the slices. "Well, you'll just have to choose me a find out won't you?" she said before taking a bite of the knife, revealing it to be made of candy. "Mmm...so good…"**

 **000**


	11. Episode 11: You Should Be A-Shaymin'd

**IT'S TIME FOR A CROSSOVER SPECIAL! YEEEEEEEAH!**

 **000**

Back at the Hall of Origin, or Hall of Legends as others call it, all of the legendaries, a few Ultra Beasts, and the Guardian Deities, were getting accustomed to their new living arrangements.

The hall itself was now exactly 100 times bigger, now resembling an enormous mansion;the hall was no longer single story with a basement. It was four stories tall now. The kitchen was now seven times its initial size and now on a single side of the hall, the living room was much more massive, with the TV and stand being much bigger. The lobby remained the same visually, only increasing in size. The Girls' Club was expanded and made with more care for the girls' individual interests, while two Guys' Clubs were made due to the amount of guys who didn't really share some similar interests.

There were rooms for each individual inhabitant, but there were some extra rooms that allowed for couples to stay together. That way, if they broke up, which happened A LOT, they still had their own rooms, and luckily, each room had its own bathroom.

At the moment, Solgaleo was in his room, sound asleep. It was 5:59 AM, and as soon as it hit 6 AM on the dot, the Sunne Pokemon's eyes popped open. He stretched, popping his back as he rose his rear into the air before doing the same when raising his front half up.

"Arceus, this remodeling is just what I needed…" he said with a still tired tone. "This bed is much softer…"

His room had undergone very little changes. It was still rather space-y. The wallpaper looked much more vibrant and showed the galaxy much clearer. His bed was all white, as was his carpet. He had a large television hanging up on his wall next to an air vent. He also had a table next to his bed with a lamp and telephone on it. There was a moderately sized window on the wall, allowing some light to shine into his room.

He hopped off of his bed and exited his room. He closed his door, revealing that his name was engraved into it, as were the rest of the Pokemon's living there.

His room was on the fourth floor, along with Diancie's, Hoopa's, Volcanion's, the Tapus', Lunala's, the Ultra Beasts, Necrozma, Magearna, and Marshadow. There were eighteen rooms on each floor to accommodate each individual, with three more spread out for the couples, bringing the total to seventy-five rooms.

He slid down the slide, which was the mode of going down from higher floors if you didn't want to use the stairs or float.

He walked into the large kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out one of the fifty packs of microwavable bacon. He could hear commotion coming from the living room, as some of the guys, as soon as they were allowed to come back, ignored everything and went straight back to the living room to continue their movie marathon.

He levitated the bacon out of the pack and into the microwave while smacking his lips. "Hey big boy~"

He nearly jumped out of his fur as Entei seamlessly entered, the microwave hum drowning out the sound of his pawsteps. Seeing who it was, Solgaleo huffed and turned back to pay attention to his bacon, which was almost done.

Seeing his attitude, Entei chuckled and walked closer to him, nuzzling him. Solgaleo growled softly. "It's too early for this shit. Go the fuck away. You said every two weeks!"

"Hey, that doesn't mean I can't be near you. I said that I'd leave you alone, which I was going to do," Entei said as he walked to the fridge.

"Pretty sure rubbing against me isn't leaving me the fuck alone…" Solgaleo replied with a glare.

"Get over it," Entei said, rolling his eyes. "You act like I can't be around you without having sexual thoughts."

"Uh...given how you've been acting around me, it's not my fault that I assume that you're just lusting for me and nothing more," Solgaleo replied.

Entei rolled his eyes, taking out a soda. "Whatever you say…"

The microwave beeped and Solgaleo got out his bacon.

 **-000-**

The lion headed back to his room, closing the door with his tail before turning on his television for a while.

Once on his bed again, his phone started to ring. He groaned to himself and used kinesis to answer it and bring it up to the side of his face. "Hello?"

"..."

A look appeared on his face that identified confusion. "Oh, uh...hi. Didn't expect to hear your call," he greeted.

"..."

"Uh, yeah...I'm up for it. Victini hasn't hit me up just yet, so...I guess we're down for now," Solgaleo replied.

"..."

"Uh...hmm...I usually start my challenges around 10 AM or so, it may take a little longer because I'll have to wake up Lunala, too, and get _her_ to stay up somehow…"

"..."

"Alright. Let's make this a great show…"

"..."

"See ya in a few hours…"

He hung up the phone and proceeded to eat.

 **000**

3.5 hours passed

 **000**

The final five contestants were all on the seventh floor. This was a rare occurrence, as Dhelmise hardly ever showed up around them. They knew that something was either up, or was he having a change of heart?

"So, it seems like the merge is slowly coming upon us. How does it feel to know that we're all fucked except for one of us?" asked Dhelmise. "All of this for nothing…"

Nope, still the same.

"Uh...that's pretty much how it is for all of these shitty competitions, so I don't really have a set emotion for this," Hakamo-o replied.

"You have emotions?" asked Dhelmise. "Huh, that's queer, because I would've thought that you didn't since you chose to vote out a friend of a friend."

Hakamo-o growled at him. That was three days ago and she was still getting pressed about it. Lycanroc and Incineroar had forgiven her, but she still felt bad about doing it. "I said that I was sorry and I still feel bad, so will you fuck off?"

"Geez, is that everyone's catchphrase for me?" Dhelmise questioned. "Just…'fuck off'?"

"Maybe if you didn't talk so much shit, that wouldn't be the case!" Incineroar exclaimed.

Dhelmise gave him an unamused look. "You're gay, your opinion doesn't matter to me."

Incineroar twitched and took a deep breath. Lycanroc had been helping him with his anger towards Dhelmise, so he was trying so hard to keep his cool and not threaten him.

"You know, you're just proving his point," Lycanroc spoke, folding her arms.

"I don't care," Dhelmise replied. "You should know this by now."

"Well you should," Lycanroc replied. "Life's gonna kick your ass if you keep acting like this."

"I'm a ghost-type with a penchant for pissing people off," Dhelmise explained. "I'm sure that I'll be just fine."

They all exchanged looks. "I don't know about you guys, though."

They looked back in the seaweed's direction abruptly upon hearing that. What was he getting at?

"Elaborate," Hakamo-o requested.

"Oh, I'm not talking about you. You have your own problems," Dhelmise replied. "I'm referring to these two's relationship," he continued, gesturing to Lycanroc and Incineroar.

"Uh, what relationship?" asked Incineroar. "We're literally just friends."

"Oh, so you're just completely oblivious to the fact that Lycanroc is in love with you?" he queried.

Immediately, Lycanroc blushed like mad and Incineroar's eyes widened as he turned to her, only to see her sheepishly looking to the side while biting her lip.

"Wait...you're serious?" Incineroar asked, completely surprised. He thought that she understood that their chances were completely nonexistent. He liked her, but not in _that_ way.

"Sorry…" Lycanroc said, not really that scared to admit it now. "You're just so nice, cute, friendly. I just feel that you and I have some sort of connection. I know that it can't go beyond us being friends, but the feelings are there."

"Aww…" Pyukumuku commented.

Incineroar smiled softly, hugging her close. "You don't need to apologize. I may not feel the same way, but just know that you're like a best friend to me and I don't ever want to hurt you," he said, kissing her forehead. Lycanroc nuzzled into his chest.

"Tell ya what. If you want, you can room with me and Lucario when this is all over…"

Lycanroc's eyes widened and her tail started wagging like crazy. She leapt onto him and kissed him on the lips, shocking him. When she broke the kiss, she blushed and got off of him. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Uh...no problem…" Incineroar said, feeling a bit uncomfortable now.

 **000**

" **I'll admit. She kisses a bit like Lucario, but it's definitely not the same," said Incineroar. "Hopefully** _ **he**_ **can have fun with her if she gains feelings for him, too."**

 **000**

"COMPETITORS! REPORT TO THE LOBBY IMMEDIATELY FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!" Solgaleo roared.

"Wait, Solgaleo?" asked Lycanroc. "I thought Mondays were Lunala's."

"Okay, now I'm completely confused," Incineroar said.

 **000**

The five of them made it to the lobby, where they saw both Solgaleo AND Lunala. However, Lunala was drowsing, so she wasn't there consciously yet.

"Uh, what are both of you doing here?" asked Hakamo-o. "I thought it was one at a time."

"Well, we were planning on doing a crossover special next with the GOOD Victini today, but he hasn't called us back just yet, so we're doing a crossover special with another show first!" Solgaleo announced.

"Ahh, the stereotypical publicity stunt that most shows do for ratings," Dhelmise commented. "Congrats. You've sold out…"

"FYI, it was _her_ idea," Solgaleo replied.

"You still went along with it-"

"ANYWAYS!" Solgaleo exclaimed, startling Lunala awake a bit.

"Wait, what's going on?" she asked, looking around.

"Didn't you take the Awakening like I told you!?" Solgaleo exclaimed.

Lunala groaned as the medicine was teleported to her. She started chugging it, waking her up in an instant. "Yep...still tastes weird as hell."

"Wait, so we're gonna have to deal with another host's contestants?!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"Yep, and they're gonna have to deal with you, so it's equally awful," Lunala replied.

"Maybe they're nice!" Pyukumuku said cheerily.

"Well, we're gonna find out now aren't we?" asked Solgaleo as he and Lunala headed to the door.

"Oh, and before we forget," said Lunala, stopping. "Incineroar, you have immunity today, so you don't have to come with us."

"WHAT?!" everyone, minus the tiger, exclaimed.

"Oh how is that fair?" asked Hakamo-o.

"If this is because of some LGBTQPWXYZ BS, then I'm gonna be-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Dhelmise," Solgaleo said, turning back around in order to calm the situation. "Incineroar won't be competing in today's challenge because there is already an Incineroar on the island we're going to."

"Oh, well hopefully that one isn't an aggro easily offended-"

"FUCK OFF!" Incineroar roared.

"There's my catchphrase again. I should have my own theme song," Dhelmise said.

"Okay, before Incineroar reduces him to ash, let's just go…" Lycanroc said, holding the large cat back.

"Agreed," said Hakamo-o, who was annoyed at the conflict as well.

"Oh we're gonna go, BUT, we've got a surprise for you guys first," Solgaleo said, hiding a sneer as he and Lunala headed out of the door. "Follow us to the dock. Incineroar, you come, too."

The five of them exchanged uneasy glances, not sure that they'd like their type of surprise.

 **-000-**

They all made it to the dock, where the hosts were waiting.

"Alright, now what's this surprise?" asked Hakamo-o.

"Well, in standard merge fashion, WE'VE BROUGHT BACK TWO COMPETITORS!"

Everyone stared in shock and anger, well minus Pyukumuku, who was excited.

"I don't want this surprise, just give me some fucking cake or something," Dhelmise said.

"I second that," Hakamo-o said.

"Nope, you're gonna take this and you're gonna like it," Lunala replied. "Now, first...welcome back...Tsareena!"

Incineroar facepalmed, as the other girls gaped in shock as a boat pulled up with the Fruit Pokemon on it as she tripped off of the boat and onto the dock. She didn't move.

"Uh...can someone help me stand up again?"

"Y-You're joking right? This has to be a joke," Hakamo-o said.

"Nope, she's really back," said Lunala. "And along with her, we have-"

A familiar mushroom seemingly appeared from nowhere. "RETURNING is the grateful way of the sky monkeys telling us to lick the urine from the entrails of the wicked and suckle on the teats of Tauros while being sacrificed to the bloodlords that live inside of our gallbladders. Yeah…"

Everyone stared at him for a few seconds, minus Tsareena, who was still lying on the ground.

"Can I fucking trade places with the gay?!" Dhelmise questioned. "I'm not about to deal with dumb and creepy, as well as a bunch of possible jackasses when we do this stupid publicity stunt!"

"If there was another Dhelmise on their island, we'd happily leave you behind," Lunala said.

"Emphasis on HAPPILY," Solgaleo added.

"Kiss kiss," Dhelmise replied nonchalantly.

"Alright, we've got this covered, so let's head to the island!" Solgaleo said as he teleported them all off of Akala, minus Incineroar, who sighed before walking back to the hotel.

 **000**

They all made it to the island and saw that there were outside of a structure resembling a small cottage, built with slender carvings of mahogany wood. Washed by the blazing sun, the house was surrounded by lush gardens. Flowers burst from the earth with a wondrous bloom, the blustery wind scattering pollen like grains of seemingly enchanting golden dust.

"Whoa...this place looks beautiful," Lycanroc said, admiring the scenery.

"Yeah, it's like walking in on a Grass-type's orgasm," said Hakamo-o.

"Uh, I resent that comment," Dhelmise said. "I'd never orgasm something this...I don't even know the right word for it…"

"Pretty…" Pyukumuku said, as if in a trance, looking at all of the flowers.

"Whose island is this?" asked Lycanroc. "If they can grow flowers that look like _this_ , they have to be cool!"

"What's an island?" asked Tsareena.

Solgaleo ignored her and walked up to the door before knocking on it. "Shaymin! We're here!"

"Shaymin?!" Dhelmise, Hakamo-o, and Lycanroc exclaimed in shock.

Pyukumuku didn't mind it, Tsareena was still oblivious, and Shiinotic was...Shiinotic.

"You brought us to that rat's show?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "She's...blah!"

"Hey, she's not that bad," Lycanroc replied. "There's plenty of worse hosts and you know it."

"Yeah, she's about the same these two," Hakamo-o said. "I'm unsure about what standard that is, but it's pretty good."

"Uh huh sure. She's unorganized, she has a Bellossom slave, she acts like she does everything by herself and no one is above her. If anything, she and the bad Victini should get married!" Dhelmise continued.

" _She_ is right here, asshole!" a chirpy voice bellowed from inside the small cottage, before the door was burst open, to reveal a small reindeer-like Pokémon glowering at Dhelmise. "I'll have you know that- wait, is Victini even single?"

"Both good and evil are single, yes," Solgaleo replied. "Thankfully for bad, ehhh for good."

Shaymin arched an eyebrow skeptically. "I could have sworn that Victini had a thing for Manaphy." After a moment, she frowned. "Unless, of course, Manaphy went back for the Ditto."

"Oh, the good Victini didn't tell me about that. Well, I guess he's with her," Solgaleo said. "The evil one is still single and you two are almost the same…"

"Are you suggesting that I'm evil?"

"Are you suggesting that I'm suggesting?" asked Solgaleo. "Just know that I can go at this for a long time, so you might as well just accept it."

The grass-type pouted. "Fine. Evil or not, we better get started on the challenge, yeah?"

"Yeah-"

"Wait, did you just completely ignore Dhelmise and go into legendary hook-up talk?" asked Hakamo-o, completely bewildered.

"Just go with it," Lunala said. "Shaymin likes to rush things…"

They all glanced up to find that Shaymin was already halfway across the field of bristling meadows, gesturing at them enthusiastically. "Come on, guys! It's as if you want this chapter to be fifty thousand words or something. Hurry your hulking asses up!"

"And she occasionally breaks the fourth wall," Lunala said with a sigh before turning back in her direction. "We're coming!"

 **000**

" **I...have no idea what these legendaries do in their spare time, but with their personalities...I know that it's either extremely awesome...or extremely horrifying," Lycanroc stated.**

 **000**

The final six, excluding Incineroar, along with Solgaleo and Lunala, followed the grass-type reindeer to a grandiose, one-story building, which seemed to resemble a dungeon. It was aligned by tan bricks, with metal linings barricading the windows. Shaymin danced past the modest gardens revolving around the building, before shoving the door open and entering the cafeteria.

"The fuck is this? Jail?" Dhelmise questioned as he and the others followed her in.

"Pretty much," a rather cynical voice responded. The guests glanced around to find that the answer had come from an Salazzle, whose lip was twisted into a frown. "But who the hell are you?"

"I'm Mr. Fuck Your Feelings, nice to meet you," Dhelmise replied in a snarky tone.

Salazzle snickered. "Hi, Mr. Fuck Your Feelings. I hate to disappoint you, but there are no feelings to fuck, anyways."

"Hey, who said anything about _your_ feelings. That goes for anyone," Dhelmise replied, stoically.

"Hey...thanks for the awful first impression," Hakamo-o huffed, folding her arms to glower at the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

A Froslass offered a weak smile. "To be fair, it's not like Salazzle really helped with first impressions on our side."

"Speak for yourself," a Garchomp retorted. "I think she was pretty spot on."

"Hey, look Hakamo-o, it's your long lost cousin that bred with a Sharpedo!" Dhelmise quipped, causing Hakamo-o to growl and clench her fists.

Before the dragon-type could protest, she was interrupted by a cheery voice from across the cafeteria. "Hi!" the voice chirped, jumping onto the table. The almost melodic voice belonged to a Skitty, who was grinning energetically as her tail danced in the air. "I'm Skitty! It's a pleasure to meet you-"

"No, it's not," Shaymin interrupted, rolling her eyes. "They're jerks; and unfortunately for you, today's challenge is actually a collaborative challenge with them!"

"Jerks? HA!" Dhelmise laughed. "Allow me to introduce you all to us…"

"Dhelmise, I swear to Arceus-" Hakamo-o started.

"Here, we have…'The Serious Bitch'," he started, as Hakamo-o had to hold in her anger. "She's all about the game and well...that's it. She doesn't know what the hell fun is outside of exercising and...she's just now discovering her emotions…"

"I will tear you apart…" she threatened, baring her teeth.

"And violence," he added with sarcastic cheerfulness before moving on to Lycanroc.

"Here, we have 'Ms. Wild Thang'," he continued as Lycanroc blushed and facepalmed. "She's all about having fun and getting up close and personal with guys, but don't even think about sex because she's not gonna do shit and uh...hmm...I guess that's it."

"We have a Lycanroc too," Shroomish pointed out, gesturing at the wolf beside him. "He is all about having fun, as well."

As if triggered by his name, the male Lycanroc leapt from his seat. "HAS ANYONE TASTED THE NIPPLE SALAD?"

"He reminds me of my third cousin…" the female Lycanroc replied with a blank expression.

"Oh...well I don't care," Dhelmise commented, moving on to Pyukumuku. "Here, we have 'The Optimist. He had a depressing life, but...fuck it, he's looking up in life now, so who cares?"

"Hehe~" Pyukumuku chuckled bashfully.

Dhelmise floated next to Tsareena. "Here we have, 'Dumber Than a Sack of Bricks'," he commented. "Nobody knows how she's made it this far in life, but it's happened and...we all have to deal with it."

"Damn... " a Lucario muttered beneath his breath. "She's _hot_."

Seemingly surprised by this comment, a nearby Stunfisk began to crane her neck as she tried to closely examine the intruder who had just received the compliment. After an intense examination, the self-acclaimed model shrugged. "She's average, especially compared to my gorgeous self."

"In intelligence, that is very, very, _very_ incorrect, she is a million miles _below_ average, but in terms of appearance…" Dhelmise started before shuddering. "YOU are a disgrace. At least she has looks to back up her idiocy."

A Jigglypuff bit her lip, as if she had been the one receiving the insult. "Hey, that wasn't very nice. You shouldn't say that to her. Remember, appearances are subjective!" she remarked, grinning brightly.

"And her lack of intelligence is _ob_ -jective," Dhelmise said before lightly shoving Tsareena forward, causing her to fall forward on the ground. She didn't move.

"Not again…" she moaned. "Can someone help me? How do you stand up?"

"Was that necessary?" Hakamo-o asked, holding her head in annoyance.

"Yes…"

Golisopod released a low whistle. "Wow. Asshole alert."

"Thanks," Dhelmise chirped happily. "I pride myself in my craft. Now, onto the next one of us you'll have to suffer through…"

He went next to Shiinotic. "We don't know what the hell to call this guy, but just know that if he's around, you're gonna hear some shit that makes no sense, makes you question your faith in Pokémon-ity, and actually disturbs you when you listen."

"Is that so?" a Meowstic drawled, a sadistic grin on his face. "It almost sounds as if you're describing yourself, Dhelmise."

"Hey, wannabe Top Cat _._ Maybe you should stick to coughing up hairballs, _"_ Dhelmise retorted.

"Dhelmise, this is completely unneces-"

"WALLS!" Shiinotic exclaimed.

The male Lycanroc's eyes blazed with sudden excitement. "MEAT BICYCLES!"

"Oh crap, I'm outta here," Dhelmise exclaimed before teleporting out of the cafeteria.

Shiinotic floated up and landed on a table. "WALLS are the euphemism for loud outraging buttsex that plagues the mind of those foolish enough to trespass in the realm of the Oranguru musk. We don't know why they do it, but we know that the bananas that go into the rectums of the innocent will surely change their mindsets and allow their eyes to truly be peeled as the meat bicycles of the lord Magikarp are slowly torn apart by Tyrantrum living in the clouds that descend every 100 years in search of food. Anyone foolish enough to stumble across them will be dismembered and their body will be eaten by the Alolan Diglett that live inside our genitalia...yeah…"

The rest of Shaymin's cast blinked in horrified amazement.

"Yep, that's Shiinotic," the female Lycanroc groaned sheepishly, hugging herself. "He got voted out early, but...they brought him back."

Dhelmise reappeared in the cafeteria. "And now that you have a taste of him, you should know me by now, so I'm not gonna say anything other than I'm a jackass, smartass, whatever you decide to call me."

"And yeah...those are our contestants," Solgaleo said, stepping forward. "I'm Solgaleo," he greeted.

"And I'm Lunala," Lunala greeted after. "We're the hosts of Total Pokemon: Alola."

Shaymin puffed out her chest slightly. "I'm Shaymin, as everyone here should already know. And these guys," she said, gesturing nonchalantly towards the rest of her cast. "Are the contestants for my show, but I'm not going to bother introducing all thirty-one of them because, frankly, they're not nearly as interesting as me and we have a challenge to start!"

"About time," Dhelmise said. "For someone who-"

"HUSH!" Hakamo-o exclaimed before using Dragon Claw on him. "You've caused enough issues!"

The grass-type legendary nodded her head, smiling gratefully at Hakamo-o. "Thanks, dudette. Anyways, so as most of you have established, today's challenge is a collaborative challenge between my cast and Solgaleo and Lunala's cast."

"So, how is this gonna go?" asked the female Lycanroc, pointing to the male one.

Shaymin glanced thoughtfully at the female Lycanroc. "Since there are two Lycanroc, the readers are probably going to be very confused. So, to save them from the confusion, my Lycanroc - the weird, meat bicycle obsessed one - has automatic immunity and does not have to take part in today's challenge."

"THERE IS NO FENCE ON THIS FENCE!" The male Lycanroc shrieked, before leaping out of his seat and through the window, presumably to his bedroom.

The contestants from Shaymin's island immediately began to protest, but their objections were waved away by their host.

"Remember," Shaymin chimed, almost mockingly. "The reader is the number one priority."

"You're still breaking the fourth wall. This is a TV show. What are they reading? The TV Guide?" Dhelmise asked, floating back up.

"Your death wish," Shaymin murmured softly, before grinning brightly towards Solgaleo and Lunala. "Would you two like to explain today's challenge?"

"Oh, right," said Lunala. "The first challenge today will be to find our cast members in order to add them to your team. It's not going to be permanent, it is simply for today's challenge."

"Essentially, our campers will hide and you all will find them," Solgaleo explained simply. "You have to find them twice in order to induct them into your team. And as you can see...well...only a select few are worth it."

"We won't tell you each one's strengths, so you're just gonna have to hope that you get the good ones," Lunala added. "And based on the challenge after this, aggressive players is going to be a necessity."

A Haxorus raised her arm. "And what exactly is that challenge?"

"You'll find out when we get to that point," Solgaleo responded, peering intimidatingly at the Axe Jaw Pokemon.

"It better not be something that'll get me dirty," Stunfisk spat, hissing at the legendary.

The entirety of Shaymin's cast turned to face the self-proclaimed model, all of them sighing exasperatedly as they bellowed in unison.

"You'rea ground-type!"

Before Stunfisk had the opportunity to protest, Primarina rose from her seat and smiled politely towards the three hosts. "The challenge sounds excellent. When shall we begin?"

"When you decide to sit back down," Dhelmise retorted blankly. "I'm just guessing."

Shaymin ignored the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

"Your time starts now!" she declared, watching with amusement as five of the Pokemon from Solgaleo and Lunala's cast scrambled out of the cafeteria, minus Shiinotic, who just continued to stare at them all.

Children's laughter started to echo throughout the cafeteria before Shiinotic seemingly vanished, leaving Shaymin's cast with chills up their spines.

 **000**

Hakamo-o, Lycanroc, and Pyukumuku, after leaving the cafeteria, started trying to find suitable hiding places on the large island.

"Where the hell do you think they wouldn't check?" Hakamo-o asked in an unusually panicked manner.

"Whoa, what's the matter?" Lycanroc asked as she started slowing down. "You sound like you're about to be ganged up on or something. It's just hide-and-seek."

Hakamo-o groaned. "Sorry, I just don't like the idea of being hunted like some prize. I'm not a Deerling nor a Sawsbuck!"

"Don't think of it like that, Haka," Lycanroc said, trying to calm her down as they started slowing down. "Think about it like this. They're _recruiting_ us for their team. You like to exercise, isn't being recruited for a sport or a training team something that'd interest you?"

Hakamo-o rubbed her arm sheepishly. "I suppose so. But, did you see how many of them there were?! That's almost the equivalent of an angry mob!"

"Haka, we're at the merge; they're still in teams. They're gonna be separated; we're gonna be fine."

Hakamo-o sighed. "I guess you're right. But with this big ass island, how are we supposed to find a good place to hide when they likely know the entire place by now?"

"Hey, we watched a few episodes of the show, remember?" Lycanroc replied. "I think I have a good place to hide. Plus, they have to find us twice. It's not gonna be that hard to find a hiding spot. Look at Pyukumuku!"

Hakamo-o looked around, but saw that the Sea Cucumber was nowhere to be seen. "Uh...how do I look at someone I don't see?"

"See? He's found his spot, now we need to do the same," Lycanroc re-established. "Come on!" she urged, running through the field of fragrant flowers and into the forest.

Hakamo-o sighed to herself. "Hiding together means that we get found together and I'm unsure if that's the right way to go with this challenge."

 **000**

" **Look, I wanna win as much as everyone else, but I'm not even completely sure about what this challenge is!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "They said that we get included in their team, but what does that even entail?!"**

 **000**

Dhelmise whistled to himself as he floated around the island, getting a grasp on what these 'competitors' had to deal with. The scenery was stereotypical, the normal random island in the middle of whatever ocean this was. The lush foliage around the island was deceptive, considering the bullshit this joke of a host did to them.

He floated to the cabins, and seeing the shabby, withering condition of the miniscule buildings, he chortled to himself. "These losers are _really_ living the life, I see," he said to himself.

He saw a broken window in one of the cabins and heard uncomfortably audible yelping and panting coming from that specific one. He didn't even need to go up and look in to see what was going on. "Does that psychotic idiot seriously have normal male tendencies?" he questioned before shuddering. "I guess I know what he means by 'meat bicycle' now. Disgusting..."

He floated away from that area and decided to just make himself invisible and peek through one of the barricaded windows of the cafeteria. He eyed the thirty of Shaymin's contestants with amused eyes. They were all either waiting for their time to go or conversing with each other.

"These poor unfortunate souls," he commented in a joking manner. "They seriously think that they all have a chance to win. They should know damn well that actually trying too hard and using sneaky tactics will get them fuck all. And based on their personalities and common fucking sense, I can see that the sex slave bitch, Jabberjaw, Fake Anubis, the Thing, Axe Deodorant, Kit-kat, Puffball, Samurott Fucktoy, and Shrimp Toast won't be winning a thing."

He decided to move away from the cafeteria and actually make an effort to hide somewhere. And where else would he hide where none of them would dare to go?

"Where was Rudolph's lodge?" he asked himself as he started floated around, retracing the steps that they took to get there. After a few minutes, he found her lodge and smirked. He phased into the small Mythical Pokemon's cabin and stopped to see what all she had.

The cabin, styled as a loft, contained a generous sized bed, with sunlight shimmering down from the multiple windows scattered around the room. Complete with a high-lofted ceiling, the bamboo timber floors seemed to bask in the glow of the fierce sun. Apart from the bed, there was a small spa at the edge, with water overflowing from the tub as the tap continued to run water into it.

"How typical," Dhelmise said tonelessly. "Give your campers the shitty cabins when you know damn well you can give them better ones. I swear the hosts of these shows lack any compassion or sense."

"Eh, compassion is overrated anyway," he said shortly after before starting to go through and see if she had anything secret or hidden anywhere.

He floated over her bed and started moving her pillows and sheets via ghostly power. He shook the pillows feverishly, knowing that some girls hear things either in or under their pillows sometimes. He phased into the ground to peer under her bed and found a long, thin black box underneath it.

"I knew it," he told himself as he floated the box onto the bed and opened it. The box opened like a suitcase, a picture of Victini being pasted on the top half and various 'instruments' on the bottom half.

Seeing this, Dhelmise sighed. "You know, I expected this. I honestly did," he said, closing the box and placing it back under the bed. "All of these hosts act like a bunch of pent up, horny teens."

"Well, I guess we're ACTUALLY lucky that we have Mr. and Ms. Galaxy as our hosts," he commented as he floated into spa and vanished.

 **000**

Pyukumuku had buried himself in the sand of the beach. How did he get to the beach part of the island so fast? Don't ask questions. He sighed to himself as he sat in his little burrow covered by a few pieces of rotten kelp that washed up on the shore.

"This is so much fun," he said to himself, giggling. He sighed to himself. "I wonder if I'll end up winning the game. That'd be so cool."

The little guy didn't have much to say or much he wanted to do, initially, but after a while, he started feeling a bit of discomfort and nervousness due to his spot. If one looked over the sandy beach, rotten kelp lining the edge, and then looked to see a few pieces of kelp randomly strewn about the middle of the beach, it could be automatically inferred that something was wrong.

He didn't know how much time Shaymin gave them to hide, but a pretty ingenious plan popped up in his head. However, with the plan, came a question.

"Wait, is the object of this to be found or stay hidden?" he asked himself. _That_ wasn't even really explained, so now he was a bit conflicted about what he should do. "Ahh! It's therapy all over again! I hate thinking like this!"

He looked around nervously before squeaking and deciding to go through with his plan. The cafeteria was a ways away from the beach anyway, so he'd have plentiful time, or at least he hoped.

Pulling himself from his first hole, he started digging up holes around the beach in order to cause confusion. He wasn't positive that it'd work, but it didn't hurt to try.

 **000**

Over the loudspeaker, Shaymin's flamboyant voice sounded. "Alright, foreign campers! I hope you're hidden well, because your time is up; campers from my island, it's time to start hunting down your prey!"

 **000**

"And so it begins…" Hakamo-o said from inside of a girls' bathroom stall. She ended up there after deciding not to go with Lycanroc. Now she was stuck there until she was found once.

Or, as long as she was stealthy, she could find another place to hide without any of them knowing. What were the odds of them searching the bathrooms first anyhow? Slowly opening the stall door, she peeked outside to make sure that nobody was there.

"Hmm…" she moaned unsurely to herself. She started stepping out of the stall, slowly closing the door before hurrying to the exit and peeking outside. She didn't see anyone, but she could hear voices in the distance, signifying that they were on the way.

Quickly, she left the bathroom and ran behind the cabins. She saw a gap that was dug underneath and, despite being wary, she dug deeper underneath, eventually settling herself underneath the cabin. Underneath the cabins, things were a dark, as the only light came from the rickety floor boards and the hole that she entered from. Going forward more, she eventually enveloped herself in darkness, but not before feeling something cold and moist underneath as well.

"Fuck me…" she whispered to herself, unsure of what the material was. Was it a dead body? Was someone else down there with her?

Feeling the material and handling it, an annoyed and confused expression appeared on her face, though it was not visible in the darkness. "Meat? Really?" she whispered as she put the material back and just lied there in wait, shaking her head.

 **000**

" **Who the hell stashes meat underneath a crappy cabin?!" Hakamo-o questioned.**

 **000**

Tsareena, being the ditz that she was, stood behind a tree right next to the cafeteria. She was currently surrounded by a bunch of Shaymin's contestants, but she didn't even seem to notice, as she just stared at the intricate lines of the tree bark.

"Um… guys?" she heard, as a Shroomish called out to several Pokemon behind him. "Look at this; one of them is here."

A few Pokemon paced over to where the Shroomish was gesturing, finding her with relative ease.

"Erm… I guess we found one?" Froslass said tentatively, watching with unadulterated horror as she stood idly.

Stunfisk only shook her head stubbornly. "Nope! She's not pretty enough for our team."

"But she's gorgeous. She might even be equally as pretty as y-" Buneary protested, only to be cut off by a ferocious glare from Stunfisk.

"Equally as pretty as _who_? Finish that sentence; I dare you!" Stunfisk shrieked. "There is no way we are keeping her!"

"You keep whoever you find twice," Lunala said, floating out of the cafeteria with Solgaleo and Shaymin in tow, to see who Shaymin's contestants found so fast. The Moone Pokemon had to stifle her laugh. "Well, uh...this is unfortunate. You'd better hope you don't find her again."

"Tsareena!" Solgaleo called. "Hide somewhere else!"

The Fruit Pokemon continued staring at the tree.

"You know, I expected something like this to happen," Lunala derided, eyeing Solgaleo with an 'I-told-you-so' expression. "I told you that we should have brought back Bewear."

Solgaleo rolled his eyes at his co-host's statement. "His voice is grating and he has a child with Mudsdale to worry about. No thanks."

"A _child_?" Shroomish echoed, his jaw dropping. "Arceus… Your contestants need to carry around some condoms."

Gastly, as if triggered by this, screeched. "My mummy sent me a condom!"

Everyone stared at the gaseous ghost for a few seconds before Lunala snapped them out of the transfixion.

"Well, we told them not to do anything, but teens don't ever wanna listen unless there's incentive," Lunala said with a shrug. "Nothing we can do now."

"Anyways," Froslass began at an attempt to steer the conversation topic back to the challenge. "Tsareena? You're going to have to hide again."

Tsareena only blinked in response. "But I already am! You can't even see me," she said as she moved to the left, now having her back towards everyone.

"But…. We can see you…" Shroomish protested, only to be interrupted from a cackle above.

"Haha, suckers!" Shaymin called out from above as she looked down from the sky. "Looks like you've found her twice! Tsareena is now on your team for the next challenge!"

"What's a team?" she questioned, tilting her head in confusion as the team that found her groaned.

 **000**

Lycanroc was hiding in a cave deep in the forest, as it seemed to be the most feasible. She wasn't exactly sure about how being found worked. The hosts really neglected to specify everything, much to her chagrin.

While she was in the cave, she couldn't help but think about Incineroar and what he was doing back on Akala Island. She sighed to herself as she sat on a rock in the cave.

"I'm surprised Haka didn't follow me," Lycanroc giggled to herself. "But then again, I'm not…"

It hadn't been too long since Shaymin told her contestants to find them, so she was expecting them to be searching the forest. The cave wasn't that deep, so she'd have to back away and make sure she was hidden well in the dark.

Five minutes went by, and she heard absolutely nothing but the natural sound of wind blowing, causing the leaves on the trees, as well as the bushes on the ground, to rustle.

"This is so boring…" she said to herself, throwing a rock against the opposite wall. "I forgot how much this game irritated me…"

Suddenly, she heard more feverish rustling, as well as a few voices heading her way. She quickly got onto her feet and headed to the back of the cave, cloaking herself in darkness.

The voices began getting louder as she eyed a Magikarp, Musharna, Primarina, Exeggutor, and Lucario pass by the cave. At first it seemed like they were gonna completely ignore the cave, which was fine by her. However, just as they seemed to completely go past it, she heard one of them talk.

" _Hey? What about this cave?_ "

She immediately got nervous, but the feeling was quickly expunged when she heard the familiar voice of the Primarina, followed by one she didn't recognize.

" _Yes, the cave seems to be a place that they'd hide._ "

" _Nonsense. Based on their appearances, they aren't intelligent enough to know that designated spots such as those are too obvious. They must be somewhere that actually requires thought."_

Hearing that, Lycanroc was completely confused. What the hell did that even mean?

" _Uh, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard,"_ another unknown voice said. " _I say we go in there, and kick whoever's ass is in there!"_

" _Tor, I don't think that's the goal-"_

" _Quiet, you!"_

Lycanroc groaned softly to herself, the nervousness now replaced with annoyance. She just took a seat in the back of the cave to wait this out.

Eventually, however, a Musharna entered the cave while she continued hearing the others. Seeing her coming, Lycanroc started climbing on the walls of the cave using her sharp claws, eventually hanging from the ceiling.

Musharna didn't identify anything inside of the cave, as Lycanroc started climbing down silently as she looked up.

The Drowsing Pokemon floated back out of the cave, allowing Lycanroc to smirk to herself.

" _I didn't see anything …_ " another voice, presumably the Musharna's, said. " _But I think I felt someone's presence."_

" _My point exactly,"_ the voice, likely the Magikarp's, said. " _Now, let's go."_

She heard the Pokemon walk away and sighed in relief. "That was a close call."

 **000**

Pyukumuku continued to dig holes on the beach, even after time was called. When he heard rustling coming from nearby bushes, he quickly slinked over to his first hole, where the kelp was, and jumped inside.

He had dug down deeper, creating a tunnel system that connected all of the holes together. Overall, the little guy was able to create over fifty holes that he could squeeze into, all connected through a single system.

"That should do," he told himself proudly. "Hmm...though, maybe I should go to another hole far from these. It'll trick them."

Due to the numerous holes he had already dug, he had a gracious amount of oxygen coming inside of the holes. It got darker and darker the farther right he dug with his innards. Once he felt that he was far enough, and also a bit tired, he started digging upwards. Once he broke the surface and sand poured onto his face and down the hole, he peeked out and noticed that he was behind an average sized rock.

"Huh...weird, but okay," he chirped as he went back down the hole and sat in the horizontal tunnel, out of view.

Unluckily for him, he heard footsteps heading in his direction.

" _Hey! Runt of the litter!"_ he heard Golisopod yell. " _We know you're down there. You're caught_!"

Pyukumuku didn't respond.

" _Looks like we're gonna have to flush him out…"_ Golisopod said with a rather demented tone of voice.

" _Uh, doesn't this count anyway since we saw him jump in the hole and pop up?"_ another voice asked.

" _Krokorok, shut it,"_ Golisopod replied.

Pyukumuku, after hearing that, immediately started heading back to the fifty holes through his tunnel. He wasn't going to risk it. Maybe they had to tag him for it to count.

Suddenly, a squeaky sound was heard from the loudspeaker before Solgaleo's orotund voice was heard. "FOR CLARIFICATION, OUR PLAYERS MUST BE VISIBLE WHEN YOU DECLARE THEM FOUND! NO TAGGING IS NECESSARY!"

Hearing that, Pyukumuku sighed. "Well, at least they didn't see me, hopefully," he said, slinking to the area where his other holes were.

Once he was out of their sights, he climbed out of his hole and headed to the water, covering himself with kelp.

 **000**

" **I'm surprised that didn't see me move," Pyukumuku chirped. "This is cool!"**

 **000**

Shiinotic was giddily running in a circle in the middle of the forest, his arms swaying in the breeze. He wasn't saying anything, nor was he even blinking, he was just running.

He heard bushes rustling, but it didn't stop him from doing...whatever the hell he was doing. Mumbles were coming from the bushes, but he still didn't stop his running.

Eventually, a Ribombee and a Jigglypuff exited the bushes with caring expressions, while a Banette, Pumpkaboo, and Mimikyu watched from the bushes.

"Uh...hi, Shiinotic," Ribombee began tentatively, his eyes constantly darting back to glance at Jigglypuff. "We found you?"

Jigglypuff grinned optimistically. "Yeah. Now you just need to hide one more time, and then we find you and bam! We can adopt you!"

"Are you _sure_ that we even w-want to a-adopt him?" Mimikyu asked, her voice a trembling squeak muffled by the bushes. "He's kinda creepy…"

"Don't say that," Jigglypuff scoffed. "Everyone deserves a chance! He is perfect the way he is. What do you think, Ribombee?"

Ribombee didn't respond, his eyes transfixed towards Shiinotic, who stopped running completely, a wide smile plastered on his face as he stared at the five of them.

"Eek!" Mimikyu squealed, before leaping out of the bushes and darting away. Banette and Pumpkaboo exchanged startled looks before chasing after the small ghost-type, leaving Jigglypuff and Ribombee stranded with the Shiinotic.

"Um… Shiinotic?" Jigglypuff prodded gently. "You can hide again, now."

Children's laughter began to echo around the area again as he took a step forward and his mushroom began to glow. "Only new life can defeat death," he whispered eerily before all three of them were teleported away, leaving a scorching circle in the aftermath.

 **-000-**

The three fairy-types appeared in an environment that was pink and light green in coloration, the air around it smelled of mint and manure, two scents that you would never think you'd experience simultaneously. Unusually large ribbons of dark purple and blood red were strewn around the environment, as well as skulls, viscera, and strangely...flowers. The sky was dark, the main light coming from an eery, green sphere embedded in the ground. The three of them were floating in space, each now in their shiny forms, with Shiinotic staring at the couple with his same expression.

"Where are we?" Ribombee gasped, gazing around him in a bewildered trance.

"You are in my realm," Shiinotic said in a slow, eerie fashion as he floated close to them. "I constructed this from my own brain power and imagination. Don't you love it?"

"It's beautiful!" Jigglypuff exclaimed, her eyes dancing as they greedily absorbed her surroundings. "Look at all the flowers!"

"Those are new," he said tentatively. "It seems that you two have brought flowers into my realm of happiness."

Ribombee felt his eye twitch. "Erm… that's lovely, but Shaymin already has lots of flowers in her garden, anyways. So, yeah, if you could take us back, that'd be great-"

"Come _on_ , Ribombee!" Jigglypuff protested. "It can be our first ever date! It's not like we're losing the challenge; we've technically just found Shiinotic in two different hiding spots."

"You should know that things that are brought into my realm are destroyed," Shiinotic said with no emotion in his voice. All of the flowers in the vicinity immediately burst into flames, leaving the ashes to float about.

"That's better," he said with a creepy giggle once every flower was burned. "Now, follow me! We're gonna go on an adventure! Yahhhhhhh," he said as he started floating away.

"Jigglypuff!" Ribombee growled as she dragged him after Shiinotic. "We should probably stop this. Now."

Even Jigglypuff seemed somewhat startled by the harsh bark in which Ribombee had spoken. Ribombee, seeing the hurt on Jigglypuff's face, began to bite his lip.

"Sorry," he stated, glancing at the ground. "Erm… Let's just follow him."

The two proceeded to float after the deranged mushroom, hoping that he'd either lead them somewhere interesting or send them back to reality.

 **000**

Hakamo-o had gotten tired and actually fell asleep underneath the cabin. When a sudden thud was heard in the cabin she was under, her eyes popped open and she yawned in silence as she looked around. She was still in darkness, the hole and raggedy boards still being the only things giving her a light source.

"This is so fucking annoying," she said to herself. "Couldn't they have just had them choose who they wanted since there are six of us here now? Three on each team wouldn't have been that bad."

Being in that small area was starting to make her feel a bit cramped and she was tempted to just crawl out, stretch, and find a better place to hide. The smell of meat was getting annoying to her anyway. She started crawling back to the hole she came in from and pulled herself out. She groaned as she popped her back, not even caring if she got caught now. She backed into the back wall of the cabin and walked to the left to check and see if anyone was around.

She didn't see anyone in the area, and presumed that they had vacated that area. She came out into the open and started walking normally to the cafeteria, where he saw the three hosts watching footage from the cameras.

She stomped over and stood next to Lunala, arms folded. "Er-hem!" she exclaimed, getting their attention.

"Hakamo-o, what are you doing? You're supposed to be hiding," Lunala reminded.

"What's the point?" Hakamo-o inquired. "We're hiding so that we can be recruited. What kind of ass-backwards logic is that?"

"It's mainly a challenge for Shaymin's competitors," Solgaleo replied. "They don't know you guys; all they know is that we're on their island and they have to look for you guys for a mystery challenge."

"Ugh…" Hakamo-o groaned. "Can I just find a team and join them if we're all just sitting Ducklett?"

"Absolutely not!" Shaymin cried out over the loudspeaker, the resentment dripping from her voice. "This is a challenge for a reason, and you're going to stick to it, missy!"

"Hmm… You're not my host, so I don't have to listen to you," Hakamo-o said matter-of-factly as she turned to Solgaleo and Lunala. "Come the fuck on…"

"We're on Shaymin's Island, so if she wants this as a challenge, it's gonna be a challenge," said Lunala.

"This sure is a one-sided crossover if you're letting her make all of the decisions," Hakamo-o commented.

"Less work for us," Solgaleo said with a shrug.

Hakamo-o facepalmed herself before stomping away from the three of them.

 **-000-**

"Stupid lousy…" Hakamo-o muttered as she walked into the forest, eventually coming upon a destroyed house. Her eyes widened as they absorbed the old, ravished building, with tattered bricks crumbling from the edges and glass shards just scattered across the exterior of the mansion. To the side was an abandoned tractor, in a similarly appalling condition to the mansion itself.

"Hell, even our hotel has survived longer and there were- oh nevermind, there are WAY more of them," she commented as she approached the building. "Maybe it's too fucked up to search."

Suddenly, as she prepared to go in, she heard a few voices heading her way, bringing a smile to her face. She gazed over at the tractor and went over to it, climbing onto the top of it with her arms folded.

"If they don't find me here, they're blind," she said.

From around a corner, she saw this island's Incineroar, a Noctowl, a Vespiquen, and Salazzle "Hmm," she started. "This group seems okay."

As they got closer, they almost immediately turned to the wrecked house, seemingly ignoring her.

"Hide and seek," Salazzle huffed, squinting her nose in frustration. "How creative, Shaymin."

The Noctowl shrugged. "At least it has nothing to do with, you know, being swallowed by Victreebel."

" _Swallowed by a Victreebel?"_ Hakamo-o whispered to herself. " _Yep, definitely made the better choice of show."_

"I'm sincerely beginning to wonder whether any of Shaymin's antics are legal," Vespiquen pointed out, biting her lip. "The cast from the other island seemed somewhat appalled by our conditions."

"Pfft, like their conditions could be any better," Incineroar scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Debatable," the Salazzle remarked, as she padded past the tractor, Hakamo-o watching her intently. "Though, I suppose we can ask one of them; especially since I have a feeling that there is one nearby."

"You're damn right," Hakamo-o said, leaping from the tractor roof and folding her arms. "Congrats, you found me."

"Uh, technically, you revealed yourself to us," Vespiquen remarked.

"Technicalities…" Hakamo-o replied, waving away the statement. "Okay, now I'm gonna hide behind the house, okay? Then you're gonna find me twice, and I'll be on your team."

Salazzle snorted. "You make it sound like we want you to be on our team."

Hakamo-o rose a brow at her comment. "Oh, you're willing to risk having a dumbass in Tsareena, a creeper in Shiinotic, or an annoying jackass in Dhelmise, rather than myself? I mean, if that's what you want, I can just-"

"No, thanks," Vespiquen hastily responded, cutting Hakamo-o off. "We'll take you."

Salazzle rolled her eyes. "Just go hide behind that house already."

Hakamo-o gave her a distrusting look, but decided to go through with her offer, going behind the mansion.

After a few seconds, Incineroar went behind the mansion and picked her up, throwing her over his left shoulder, much to her chagrin.

"Was this really necessary?" Hakamo-o questioned as she was brought back to the front of the building.

"Trust me," Noctowl assured her kindly. "Once you get to know Shaymin, you'll learn that nothing she make us do is necessary. You just kind of roll with it."

"And what happens if you don't?" Hakamo-o asked curiously as Incineroar put her down.

As if on cue, four of them shuddered, causing Hakamo-o to raise a brow.

"Victreebel happens," Vespiquen answered.

Hakamo-o gave them all looks she heard them mention being swallowed by one, but the fear didn't make sense to her. "A Victreebel. Really?"

"You haven't met her. She's just… Putrid and repugnant!" Salazzle commented.

"So, you're telling me that two fire-types, a flying-type, and a bug-type, are afraid of a grass and poison-type?" Hakamo-o prodded. "Really?"

"When it comes to Victreebel, types don't matter," Vespiquen pointed out, folding her arms. "Once you're in her mouth, there's nothing you can do."

"She'll make a man very happy one day in that case," Hakamo-o replied, waving the comment away. "So am I supposed to help you all find others now? Did Shaymin tell you anything she didn't tell us?"

Noctowl glanced down towards her talons. "Well, she did tell us that we're supposed to be on our best behaviour if we want to continue doing more collaborations with other hosts - namely Victini - but apart from that, we're just as lost as you are."

"Let's just head back to the cafeteria," Incineroar suggested, jerking a thumb to indicate the direction.

The six of them decided to go on and head back, not knowing what else they could possibly do.

 **000**

Lycanroc was still in her cave, yawning as a whine escaped her lips. No one else had come by lately, and she was getting very bored again.

"I'm just gonna give myself up. This is not worth it," she said to herself as she stood up and headed to the mouth of the cave.

As soon as she did, though, she gained some attention, which startled her momentarily.

" _Hey!"_

Turning around, she saw a Garchomp, Pancham, Zoroark, and Meowstic heading her way. Lycanroc huffed with a smile, placing a hand on her hip. "Took you long enough."

"Apologies," Zoroark stated, rolling her eyes teasingly. "We thought you would have had more patience."

"Almost forty minutes in a cave when another group of you passed by and only one them looked in and didn't even find me," Lycanroc started. "I think that's enough patience."

"Was it Musharna?" Meowstic asked, sighing. "I bet it was Musharna."

"It was Musharna," Lycanroc replied blankly.

The group all exchanged knowing smiles, before Meowstic shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like you better try hiding again," he pointed out. "Then we can see how patient you _really_ are."

"Oh goody, maybe it'll take an HOUR of boredom this time," Lycanroc commented, folding her arms. "Look, I'm not about to waste more of my time, and this is coming from a girl who loves playing games."

"Well," Garchomp began, clicking her tongue. "How about we all save ourselves some time and effort? You tell us where you're going to hide, and we'll find you. That way, you won't have to wait for too long, and we won't have to waste our time trying to find another one of you."

"Sounds good to me. I'm gonna go behind this tree," Lycanroc said, going behind the nearest tree.

"But…" Pancham began to protest. "There is no integrity-"

Meowstic clamped a hand over the small panda's mouth. "Hush now, Pancham. Now, I wonder where in the world could Lycanroc be? You don't suppose she is behind that suspicious looking tree, do you?"

Lycanroc didn't respond.

Rolling her eyes, Zoroark cut the faux-game short, reaching out until she felt 'Lycanroc's' matted fur along her paws. "Found you." Zoroark heaved, yanking the matter back, only to reveal it as moss, not Lycanroc.

"Wait, where the hell did she go?!" Garchomp exclaimed, bewildered. "We literally just saw her go behind that tree!"

"Perhaps you all should use your eyes and look upwards," Meowstic remarked, pointing to a high branch, where the Wolf Pokemon was sitting with a smile.

Pancham gaped in awe when Meowstic removed her paw from his mouth. "How'd you get up there so fast?!"

"Like I said, I like to play games," Lycanroc commented as she leapt from the branch she was on, landing on her feet. "Looks like I'm on you guys' team now."

"Oh joy," Garchomp drawled.

Hearing her tone and seeing the others, Lycanroc couldn't help but hold a neutral expression.

 **000**

 **Lycanroc sighed. "Hopefully the rest of their team isn't as bland…"**

 **000**

Pyukumuku was hoping that they wouldn't spot him as he stayed under the kelp on the shore.

"You're in kelp. Become the kelp. You _are_ the kelp," he told himself. "Uh...what does kelp sound like?"

He heard a slight gurgle and bubbling similar to his normal squeak and giggled.

"Hey! I heard something over here!" an Absol said as he padded over to the bunch of kelp.

"Wow, remarkable. You found kelp," Golisopod said, his voice cold and full of sarcasm. "Maybe put that miniscule brain of yours to good use and actually help us find these fucks."

"Geez, someone _is_ on his blue period," Absol retorted as he walked back to the others, with Golisopod glaring at him as he did so.

Pyukumuku shuffled a bit in the kelp, feeling a bit itchy from it. Golisopod saw it move from a corner of his eye and gained a sneer. He rushed over and yanked off the kelp, revealing Pyukumuku.

"Gotcha, runt!" he sneered.

"Dang it," the Sea Cucumber Pokemon commented as he was picked up. "And we saw your ass pop out of that hole near that hole, too, so you belong to us now."

Pyukumuku blinked. "Kay," he replied, causing Golisopod to sweatdrop from his lack of fear.

"Well, this was easy," Haxorus commented as she and the others sauntered over. Golisopod glared at them.

"Oh be quiet. You, the croc, and the pussycat did nothing to help and just stood around," Golisopod growled tossing Pyukumuku to her. "Just tote this loser so we don't have to wait for him to catch up."

Before Haxorus could protest, Golisopod started walking away. Haxorus sighed as she stared down at Pyukumuku's cute face. "Hello," he chirped.

Hearing that squeaky tone, she couldn't help but giggle at the miniscule Pokemon in her clutches. "Hi," she responded with a faint blush as Absol, Krokorok, and Skitty gathered around, admiring his cuteness.

"Aww, he's adorable!" Skitty exclaimed. "Do you think-"

"PICK UP THE PACE!" Golisopod blustered, annoyed at their sudden idleness. This bluster caused the others to run after him.

 **000**

" **I think Golisopod needs a hug," Pyukumuku commented. "Anyone with that much anger has issues that love and affection can easily cure. Well, at least that's what my psychiatrist told me."**

 **000**

A good majority of the players from both shows returned to the cafeteria, with Shaymin's being on one side, and Solgaleo and Lunala's on the other. Neither set was conversing with the other, as per the request of the hosts. It was just for the time being and to stay organized, mainly. They didn't need any confusion.

Golisopod and his group returned with Pyukumuku, and seeing how they were segregated, Haxorus gently placed Pyukumuku on the table with his cast before moving toward her own, along with the others of her group.

"Alright, that's four," said Lunala, seeing that the contestants that she and Solgaleo truly cared about were found. "I think that's enough."

"Wait!" Skitty interrupted. "Not all of our players are back yet! And what about Dhelmise and Shiinotic?"

Solgaleo twitched upon hearing her complaint. "You seriously want to work with them?"

"You're the ones who brought Shiinotic and this ditz back!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, gesturing to Tsareena, who was sitting idle.

"Tsareena was brought back for the attraction factor, and apparently Shiinotic had fans, so that's why he was brought back."

"What about Passimian?" asked Lycanroc as Shaymin's cast listened in interest.

"He didn't have many fans. People thought he was boring," Solgaleo replied.

"Gumshoos?"

"Nobody cared about her," Lunala said bluntly. "No offense."

"How many players did you guys even have?" asked Zoroark.

"We only chose fourteen," Lunala answered, glaring at her and Solgaleo's cast.

"HEY!" Shaymin cried out. "You're not supposed to be asking questions to them until we get to the presentation!"

"Wait, what presentation?" Shroomish asked tentatively.

"You'll see whenever the rest of you find the creep and jackass," Shaymin replied childishly.

Just as the words escaped her mouth, the door to the cafeteria slammed open, and the Banette, Pumpkaboo and Mimikyu all rushed into the room before ducking beneath the nearest table. After hearing them whimper for a moment, Shaymin arched her brow at them.

"Um, guys? Did you bring Shiinotic with you?"

"Shiinotic is not coming!" Mimikyu squeaked, peeping from beneath the table. "Not a chance."

Banette nodded her head in agreement. "And neither are Jigglypuff and Ribombee."

Completely bewildered, Shaymin twitched her eye. "But-"

" _Please_ ," Pumpkaboo desperately pleaded, glaring daggers at the host. After a moment, Shaymin shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright, fine. But we're still waiting on several of the Kyogres and Dhelmise. They should be able to find him-" Before she could even complete her sentence, the door was shoved open once again, and in came the remaining Kyogres.

"We can't find anyone anywhere!" Tor scowled, storming into the room and slamming himself down onto a bench.

"That's because you were being too stubborn to listen to everyone else."

"Shut up, Ex!"

"G-guys…? Everyone is staring a-at us," Egg stated, flustered by the attention. Everyone glared at the three heads of the Exeggutor, before turning their attention to Lucario, who was floundering for words.

"It's true," Lucario sighed. "We can't find anyone, and we've checked everywhere."

Primarina offered a hesitant smile. "Though, with sleepy Musharna checking most of the places, I'm not exactly sure how thorough our checks here." She gently poked the psychic-type, who, in response, muttered something unintelligible.

"Musharna? Did you say something?" Lucario asked. "Or were you sleep talking?"

"Huh…?" The half-asleep Pokemon murmured. "I'm not a fan…"

Mystified, Primarina poked Musharna once again. "Fan of who?"

"Stephen Hawking."

Magikarp groaned in response, before turning his head to Shaymin. "We give up. What now?"

"Figures that Dhelmise would be the one causing issues," Solgaleo commented as he headed out of the cafeteria to check the cameras, with Shaymin and Lunala in tow.

Shaymin started clicking through the numerous cameras before eventually stopping. Fire burned in her eyes upon finding out where the Sea Creeper was.

"DHELMISE!" she roared in complete and utter anger as she flew to her lodge. Solgaleo and Lunala exchanged looks before shrugging and going back into the cafeteria, where they were met with the perplexed and rather fearful faces from Shaymin's cast. Their cast remained relaxed, as they sort of expected something like this to happen.

"Shaymin will be back shortly," Lunala commented as the Gratitude Pokemon's cast started exchanging glances and murmuring amongst themselves.

After a few moments, Dhelmise appeared, relatively unscathed. "I can tell that you all gave up on finding me. Goes to show how crappy you all are at this game."

"Dhelmise, where the hell did you hide?" asked Lycanroc. "You got Shaymin pissed off."

"Eh, I hid in her lodge," Dhelmise responded nonchalantly. "No biggie."

Shaymin burst through the cafeteria doors with a look of bloody murder in her eyes as she glared at the Sea Creeper. Her cast hadn't seen this side of her before, which instilled even more fear in them.

"No one… goes into… my room… EXCEPT FOR ME!" Shaymin roared.

"It's on an island with others so, technically, anyone can go into that boring cabin," Dhelmise replied. "You have normal bamboo floors and a spa at the foot of your bed. There's literally nothing of interest in there."

" _Wait, he didn't find my relief box?"_ Shaymin thought to herself. " _STILL_! You went into _my cabin_! When you're just a fucking _guest_ on my island!"

"Should've been the other way around. It would've been better if _you_ were on _our_ island. These poor bastards would know what a decent island looks like."

Shaymin growled and Solgaleo stepped in front of her, only for her to glare daggers at him. "Take this from experience. He is not worth it," he warned.

Hearing the sternness in his voice and seeing his serious, piercing glare, Shaymin grumbled to herself. She took a breath as he moved away from her.

"Okay," she said through grit teeth. "My apologies. Didn't want you all to see that side of me unless you deserved it. Now that all of our intru- I mean _guests_ are here, let's move on to the presentation of what these guys have gone through on their island, who they eliminated, and some of the best moments that _I_ picked out."

"And, why do we care about any of that?" Stunfisk asked bluntly. "These peasants are no better than us. Objectively, WE are the superior ones, most specifically me."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, honey," Dhelmise responded. "Also, why didn't you two tell us that we were gonna be shown like this?"

"We didn't know. Shaymin told us that she made it up in preparation," Solgaleo said. "It's to formally introduce you all and uh…"

"To show my cast what they _could_ of have had and rub it in their faces," Shaymin chirped. "Plus, I heard that you all watched my show, so...why not show my cast a bit of yours?"

"I have no idea whether to be scared or flattered…" Hakamo-o commented.

"Well, Bellossom edited most of it, so maybe flattered," Shaymin said, shrugging her shoulders.

A blank, white board was wheeled into the room by Bellossom, who went back out minutes later to retrieve a projector and laptop. She set the laptop on the table, connected the wires to it, and a few seconds later, the video began to play.

 **-000-**

Suddenly, _Requiem for a Dream_ began playing as the five islands of Alola were shown. After that, the hotel that they were staying in was shown. Seconds later, as the song kicked up, the fourteen competitors were shown in battle-cut format based on team.

Hakamo-o, Bewear, Lycanroc, Pyukumuku, Tsareena, Dhelmise, and Oricorio were on the top half, and Incineroar, Gumshoos, Shiinotic, Mudsdale, Passimian, Togedemaru, and Drampa were on the bottom half.

Clips from different parts of the show began to be presented.

 **-000-**

" _Lycanroc...welcome to the show…" Solgaleo greeted._

" _Psyched to be here!" she said cheerily before letting out a howl. "I can't wait to get down and dirty…Let's get this party started!"_

" _I like you already…" Lunala stated. "Head on inside. We've got...eight more players to introduce and the fun and mayhem will begin…"_

 _Lycanroc howled once again and headed to the terminal._

 _ **-**_ **000-**

" _Incineroar! How you doing, man?"_

 _Incineroar gave them a smirk. "I'm fine. But these others probably won't be when I'm done…"_

" _Interesting...and pretty intimidating. Better try not to make too many enemies…" Lunala stated. "Head on into the terminal…"_

 _Incineroar nodded and started walking to the building._

 **-000-**

" _Huh...not gonna lie, I expected something more spectacular…" it stated. "But then again, knowing these shows, there's nothing spectacular about them."_

" _Dhelmise...this is just the meeting area. Nothing spectacular is going to be happening just yet…" Lunala explained._

" _Whatever…" he said as he floated towards the building, already guessing that it was where he had to wait._

" _Well, he's going to be pleasant…" Solgaleo said sarcastically._

 **-000-**

" _Shiinotic! How are you?"_

 _The Illuminating Pokemon didn't respond, as his smile only got wider. "I am doing perfectly fine as long as the overlord of light allows me to drain the fluids of everyone in my way. The way the grass grows in the sky really lets us know that all hope is lost as the world will be consumed in a ball of fire…" he said in a very honeyed tone. "Yeah…."_

 _The two hosts exchanged looks of fear. What he said was extremely creepy, but his facial expression and tone of voice were the exact opposite. Well, mainly his tone._

" _Great story, uh…" Solgaleo stated. "G-Go on and head into the terminal…"_

" _The overlord can't protect us all...it protects no one as long as the monkeys of the universe are loose from their barrel…" he said, allowing his arms to graze against both hosts, who shuddered._

" _Remind me why we chose him?" Lunala explained._

" _We needed the weird guy…" Solgaleo replied._

 **-000-**

 _Shower water was heard shutting off in a steam enveloped room. A shadow walked toward the window. Wiping away the fog, Bewear revealed his wet, furry form. He scratched his head before swiping his fur down, making it appear as it usually did. Smooth._

 _He had a towel around his neck and another around his waist and he decided to go back to his own room, as he knew Pyukumuku wouldn't appreciate him leaving used towels on the floor or counter._

 _He looked at Pyukumuku's clock and saw that it was 9:33. He yawned before heading out the door, only to see Mudsdale standing there with a peeved expression. He sweatdropped._

" _Who told you...that you could leave the bedroom?" Mudsdale questioned, keeping her same glare._

 _Bewear just blinked in response as Mudsdale charged her way into Pyukumuku's room. Bewear ended up clinging to her by her mud locks._

" _Muddy!" Bewear blustered, something he hardly never did, causing Mudsdale to stop in her tracks. He let go of Mudsdale, causing him to land on his back. He attempted to get up, but Mudsdale pinned him back down with her muzzle, giving him a sultry look and lick on the stomach._

 _Bewear would have easily got back up, but his weakened muscles from the numerous rounds and his male hormones weren't allowing this to happen. He didn't want this to happen in his friend's room, so he lightly tapped Mudsdale before she got too 'into' the part that was coming up._

" _Muddy. My room. Not Pyukumuku's…" he stated._

 _Mudsdale smiled and kissed his nose as she let him up and grabbed him by his ear using her teeth.  
_

" _Ow…" he said plainly as he made sure to keep his towels with him._

 _ **000**_

 _ **Bewear just sighed.**_

 **-000-**

 _Togedemaru's eyes flickered open as she woke up in the bed in the room. She looked around and saw that she was the only one in the room. Well, other than Shiinotic, who was standing above her, watching her sleep._

" _EEEEP!" she exclaimed, using Thunderbolt on him as she fell out of the bed. It didn't seem to affect him, however._

" _SLEEP is the epitome of testicles being inserted into the chest cavities of the innocent while urethras are being ripped out by man-eating Linoone…" he stated. "Yeah…"_

" _Does anything you say make any fucking sense!?" she exclaimed._

 _Her response was his creepy smile. She twitched as her spikes extended. She calmed down and took a breath. "Alright...could you please just stay away from me?"_

" _AWAY is the way for Salazzle to grind their tails into the mouths of Aggron and tear out their uvulas causing an eruption of bloody vomit and diarrhea from the nostrils on the moon...yeah…" he replied._

" _..." Togedemaru didn't say anything. Instead, she just headed to the door to try and find the others. She wasn't even going to bother asking him._

 **-000-**

" _Get me onboard with what?"_

 _Togedemaru shrieked out of fear, as the Placid Pokemon seemed to have materialized out of nowhere! She growled and glared at him._

" _Well, uh...usually I hear shrieks like that when girls or guys are under me, but uh...that works, too", Drampa replied in response to the shriek and angry glare. "So, I ask again: Get me onboard with what?"_

 _Togedemaru let out a breath. She didn't want to have any help in her plans, but, she wasn't going to be in an alliance with him or anything, so what harm could be done?_

" _Well, if you must know, I want you to help me eliminate Passimian…" Togedemaru explained. "That bastard is gonna end up screwing the team over with his bullshit decisions…"_

" _Eh, I guess I can agree. I mean, the idiot really thinks that I'm gonna stop my voyeurism here?" Drampa asked. "Please. With the sweet asses on those bitches on the other team and the beefcake from Incineroar, mmph! It's only just beginning."_

" _I'm glad that I'm not in that description…" was the only thing Togedemaru could muster up._

" _Oh, don't worry, anyone not on that list has a list all of their own…"_

" _Okay, I don't wanna know anything else dealing with that", Togedemaru stated solemnly. "Are you gonna help me or not?" she asked._

" _Hmm...I suppose…" Drampa started. "But, what's in it for me?"_

 _Togedemaru sighed. She had a feeling that he was going to want something in return, as if his guaranteed safety (for now) wasn't enough. "What do you want? It'd better not be sexual, either…"_

" _What's sexual for you is different for what's sexual for me, so I believe we have an understanding~" Drampa said with a smile._

" _Just tell me what you want, you jackass."_

" _Well, I wish to shower with you…"_

 _Togedemaru froze. Did this pervy sonuvabitch just ask her to shower with him? Maybe she could focus on Passimian at a later time._

" _You mean...you want us to-"_

" _Heavens NO!" Drampa exclaimed. "You're far too small for me to take in that manner. I only wish to be in the same...moist...steamy...confined...environment as you. No physical contact needs to be made…"_

 _Togedemaru weighed her options. She could refuse and risk him blabbing to the rest of the team, or get it over with, feel violated, and get an extra vote. Suddenly, a thought arose in her head._

" _Wait...how do I know that you're not just gonna take it all back and not help me if I agree to this?"_

 _Drampa chortled. "You don't know. I guess you'll just have to trust me…"_

 _Togedemaru just gave him a look of disgust before staring back down at her plate._

 **-000-**

 _ **000**_

" _ **Wow...I know a gay guy...AWESOME!" Pyukumuku exclaimed cheerily.**_

 _ **000**_

 **-000-**

 _He headed to the terminal and a boat appeared. "This sucks…"_

" _Yeah, it does…" Lunala said. "I thought you'd at least make it to the merge!"_

 _Passimian prepared to get on the boat when he heard a voice calling his name. He turned back around to see Hakamo-o running to him._

 _He was surprised and a bit excited, but that was quickly dashed as she kicked him in the goods, causing him to flinch and hold himself._

" _Oooh…." Lunala flinched._

" _Okay...I deserve that…" he strained, dropping to his knees._

 _Hakamo-o then kissed his cheek, shocking him. "Wait, I'm confused…" he groaned as he tried to stand back up._

" _Good…" Hakamo-o said with a glare before leaving._

 **-000-**

 _They all started heading out of the hotel and, seeing an opportunity, Dhelmise floated next to Mudsdale. "Hello Mrs. Bewear…" he teased softly so that only she heard._

 _Mudsdale growled and gave him a death glare. "Don't. Call me that. I want nothing to do with that emotionless, rapist, prick!"_

" _Whoa...rapist?" Dhelmise asked, stopping in place. That came out of nowhere. "Isn't that a bit...harsh?"_

" _No. He forced himself on me and I told him no, but he did it anyway…" Mudsdale said. "If I lose this game, at least I'll be able to go to court…"_

 _Dhelmise couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Uh...didn't you like it and proceed to stalk him? Even force him a couple of times?"_

" _Oh please. Guys can't be raped unless it's by another guy…" Mudsdale replied before continuing to follow the others, ignoring the point Dhelmise was making._

 _The Sea Creeper sighed to himself. "Female ignorance...ya gotta fucking hate it…" he mumbled to himself._

" _DHELMISE! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" he heard Hakamo-o yell to him._

" _I HAVE NO VISIBLE ASS!" he shouted back as he floated after them._

 **-000-**

" _ **OMA, Haka is so bashful and insecure when it comes to guys talking or touching her and she knows it!" Lycanroc blustered cheerfully. "No wonder she was so eager to get Passimian out of there and unbothered after he left. I mean, she said that she kissed him, but she still went straight back to her old ways!"**_

" _ **Oricorio and I really need to work on building her confidence around guys…" Lycanroc continued. "But...then again the only guys left are gay, a jerk, far too cute, and...Bewear? I don't really know how to explain the big guy. But, I think Incineroar could still offer some assistance…"**_

 **-000-**

 _Mudsdale and Bewear were walked down to the terminal by Solgaleo, ready to ride the same ferry._

" _Uh...we both live on this island. Why are you making us get on this ferry?" asked Mudsdale._

" _Because it's a certain tradition. Don't worry. You'll still be safe and sound…" said Solgaleo._

 _Mudsdale growled and bumped Bewear harshly, making him fall to the ground. "If you hadn't done all of that bullshit, we wouldn't be getting eliminated you jackass!"_

 _Bewear didn't say a word and just rose up and dusted himself off with an annoyed expression, one of the only times he's shown actual emotion. "You act like it's purely my fault. You've forced yourself on me every day since Brooklet Hill until the SAW trap challenge…" he said coherently._

" _Don't you spin this around on me when YOU started it off!"_

" _I can see that this child is going to have a traumatized life…"_

" _Oh-no. I'm giving this little shit up…" she said heartlessly, shocking both Bewear and Solgaleo._

" _Oh, well...uh...I suppose that's-"_

" _You're gonna do WHAT?!" Bewear growled, glaring at her._

" _You heard me", Mudsdale said, glaring back. "I don't want this baby. I NEVER wanted one. And I know damn well that you're not gonna take care of it…"_

" _And why is that?"_

" _Because you're a retard! You can't comprehend the simplest of things! You're just the stereotypical strong dumbass! This thing may even catch whatever you have that's made you like this!"_

" _Wow...so it all comes out now…" Bewear replied before chuckling. "Well let me tell you something bitch. Just because I have mental problems doesn't mean that I don't have a fucking heart. Something that YOU seem to be lacking. So if you insist on talking shit on OUR soon-to-be child just because you're an immature whiny slut who enjoys a long pole with no strings attached, I'll happily take him or her in and let him or her know that their mommy is a irresponsible whore…"_

 _Bewear's words hit her like a ton of bricks and she backed away a bit. "Y-Yo-"_

" _Nope. You don't get to speak anymore bitch", Bewear continued, folding his arms in a glare. "Don't talk, contact, or touch me again. When you have the baby, that's the only time I wanna hear from you. And if I don't, I'm pressing charges…"_

 _Mudsdale gaped._

" _Whoa...this got REAL soap opera-y REALLY quick…" Solgaleo said. "Uh...why don't I just teleport Bewear to the location, and Mudsdale takes the ferry."_

" _No, don't do that", Bewear said. "Knowing her, she's probably try to jump off and drown herself. I'll take the ferry…"_

 _Tears streamed down Mudsdale's face as she shuddered._

 **-000-**

" _That's right feather freak, I told Lycanroc and then she heard you talking shit!" Dhelmise said smugly._

" _Wait...you-"_

" _Ori...you were our friend," Lycanroc said. "How could you that?!"_

 _Oricorio looked down. "I…I just wanted security! I know that with threats here, I'll never have a chance to have my dream!"_

" _Go to school, bitch…" Dhelmise replied._

 _Oricorio glared at him. "Fuck off!"_

 **-000-**

After that last clip, the screen went back to the fourteen contestants and their pictures started to fade in accordance to their elimination order, eventually leaving the original five finalists before Shiinotic and Tsareena's pictures reappeared.

 **000**

Jigglypuff and Ribombee were sitting at a picnic table with a black and white checkered picnic blanket over it, Jigglypuff twiddling a flower in her non-existent fingers. Ribombee was glancing around nervously, not liking the environment or situation Jigglypuff got them into.

"Jiggly?" the Bee Fly Pokemon queried nervously. "I think we need to go. _Now_."

"Are you kidding me, Ribombee?" Jigglypuff replied, surprised by his insistence. "This is a beautiful place! And Shiinotic is our waiter! Here he comes now!"

Ribombee paled. "He's _waiting_ us?"

" _This is my world and you're both living in it~_ ," Shiinotic sang as he approached the couple with a black container.

The odour from the container was putrid, but Jigglypuff didn't seem to notice at all. Ribombee on the other hand, felt like he was about to throw up his breakfast.

"What's on the menu for today, Shiinotic?" Jigglypuff asked cheerily.

Shiinotic chuckled as he proceeded to open the container. As soon as he removed the lid, the repugnant smell began to waft from the container.

"For you, Ms. Pinky, we have a deep fried Wigglytuff heart, complete with clotting blood and acid to taste, along with a side of Bouffalant testes."

The container opened to reveal a bloody heart, split open like a festering wound, black blood oozing from the gaping hole, sloshing onto the table. The stench of curdled milk and vinegar itched at their noses. Jigglypuff poked her meal, shuddering as a length of intestine slithered around the plate, as if it were alive.

"Well…" Jigglypuff managed to say. "This is quite the exotic meal. Isn't it Ribombee?"

"..."

"Ribombee?"

Jigglypuff turned to face her date, and to her dismay, the bee had fallen unconscious on the mat. After a sigh, she forced a smile onto her face.

"I guess he wasn't hungry," Jigglypuff said as she started to gorge on the disgusting dish before her. Shiinotic stared in happiness as his smile grew wider.

 **000**

" **Their love is doomed," Shiinotic commented with his same smile. "It is inevitable."**

 **000**

Shaymin's contestants had been shouting in protest as the video continued and eventually ended. Their outcries had been blocked out from by the music from the video. The cast from Alola just tuned out everything as they recalled everything they were shown.

Once it ended, Shaymin's cast slowly turned to the five that were on their island. Some glaring, others completely scared, and others bewildered.

"Welp, even I didn't know some of that happened," Lycanroc commented. "More specifically Drampa showering with Togedemaru…"

"Just be glad the sicko's gone," Hakamo-o responded.

"You guys seriously let a _pedophile_ on your show?!" Shroomish blustered in complete shock. "What kind of hosts are you?!"

"Saner than majority of the other ones you haven't met," Lunala replied back tonelessly.

The contestants from their show all muttered and nodded in agreement, much to the disappointment of Shaymin's contestants. Some of them were actually rethinking their choice.

"Alright!" Shaymin chirped enthusiastically. "Now that you've gotten to view a bit of their own personal and competitive lives on their show, how about a meet and greet?! That way, you get to know who you're bringing on your team."

"Uh… Why would we do that?" Zoroark queried, raising a brow. "Dhelmise pretty much gave an accurate depiction of how each of them act. We've seen it first hand when we had to find them."

Most of Shaymin's competitors started agreeing with her, leaving the Alola contestants undeterred.

"Fine by us," Dhelmise said with a shrug. "I'd rather be back at our hotel with air conditioning, catered food, large beach, televisions, and exercise equipment than talk with a bunch of boring losers on a tacky island."

"Bitch, my island is NOT tacky!" Shaymin snapped. "Watch yourself!"

"I _will_ tell them about your box under your bed," Dhelmise threatened, causing interest to rise in everyone, including Solgaleo and Lunala. "So don't even try me."

Shaymin twitched.

"Uh… What box are you speaking of?" Primarina inquired innocently.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Shaymin roared. She paused hesitantly and took a breath before turning to Dhelmise. "Okay, fine. I'll leave you be."

"Good reindeer," Dhelmise commented, causing Shaymin's ears and eyes to twitch.

Her contestants just looked on in terror, while the Alola contestants just sighed and shook their heads.

"Let's just move on to the next challenge. Forget the meet and greet," Solgaleo said, stepping in front of Shaymin, who looked ready to explode.

"Good. The fact you disgusting intruders have trespassed on the island of Lord Magikarp without permission already proves your unholiness," Magikarp preached. "It would likely rub off onto us."

"Idiot, there is no Lord Magikarp," Dhelmise challenged tonelessly, causing the fish and his followers' eyes to widen.

"H-HOW DARE YOU!" Pumpkaboo exclaimed passionately. "Lord Magikarp is a God! You have no-"

"Okay!" Shaymin exclaimed, getting back on track. "Let's _not_ get into the idiocy that plagues my cast. Let's get to the next challenge…"

 **000**

" **Figures that this island is awful. They have idiots that believe a dumb fish is a god," Dhelmise remarked. "I swear, I lose faith in Pokemon-ity every time I'm exposed to shit like this."**

 **000**

All of the contestants were in a gym area. There was a court area in the middle, with red rubber balls lining the center. With this information, one could already infer what their challenge was going to be.

"DODGEBALL!" Lycanroc cheered, rubbing her hands together enthusiastically. "Oh-ho, _this_ is going to be fun."

"Oh yes, handling medium-sized balls, any normal girl's fantasy," Dhelmise commented, causing some of the females from both casts blush and pass him a threatening look.

"Hey, he's not wrong," Haxorus said with a shrug, a blush still on her face.

"Ugh, I'd never do such a disgusting act on a pig," Stunfisk commented.

"No man would want _you_ do that anyway," Golisopod assured, causing Stunfisk to scoff and glare at him.

"Deplorable shrimp," she muttered to herself.

"As you can clearly see, this challenge is going to be dodgeball!" Solgaleo exclaimed exuberantly. "You all should know how the game works, so we're not gonna explain the basics."

"Each team will send six players on the court at a time and you all will well, play dodgeball!" Lunala explained needlessly. "If you get all of the players on the other side out, you get a point for every team mate that is still standing. So say, if the Kyogres were all out, and there are two players left on the Groudons, the Groudons get _two_ points."

"And every round, a special ball will be put on the court. The ball will come with numerous effects," Shaymin explained with a sinister smile. "You may be able to knock all of the contestants on the opposite side out at once. You may be able to temporarily stun whoever you hit. You can cover them in itching powder-"

"Wait," Hakamo-o interrupted. "Isn't that useless if getting hit with the ball gets you out anyway?"

"The special ball is not a ball that can get you out of the game unless it is programmed to," Shaymin explained. "And DON'T interrupt me. _Guest_."

Hakamo-o rolled her eyes as she folded her arms.

"Now, those are the rules," Shaymin finished. "Don't ask me to repeat because I'm not going to. You should have been listening."

"We'll be going to twenty-five points," Solgaleo spoke boldly. "The team that garners that amount first will win the challenge and the losing team will be sending someone home."

"I think that was already insinuated," Salazzle noted.

Solgaleo gave her a threatening look, which she immediately shrugged off, though it continued eating at her a bit.

Shaymin grinned cheerily towards her cast. "Also, _all contestants_ \- excluding Lycanroc, Lurantis, and Espeon - _must_ take part in this challenge. Otherwise, the team is automatically disqualified."

When Shaymin explained that, Hakamo-o immediately realized a problem in her logic.

"Wait," Hakamo-o started. "THAT'S AN-"

Shaymin interrupted her before she could expose the issue. "Now, without any further ado, let the games begin!"

 **000**

" **For fuck's sake!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "That bitch knew that-"**

 **000**

The contestants dispersed onto the court, with Lycanroc and Dhelmise moving towards the left side with the Kyogres, and Tsareena, Pyukumuku, and Hakamo-o moving to the right side with the Groudons.

Once they were comfortably scattered into positions, a shrill whistle blew, and all of the Pokémon darted forwards to scavenge for a ball.

Instantly, the Golisopod lunged forwards with a mighty roar as he tossed one of the balls forwards. The ball hit its mark, Magikarp.

Growling, Magikarp was teleported out of the arena. However, before Golisopod could celebrate, a ball was plunged straight towards his stomach, causing him to stumble a bit.

"Who the fuck was that?" the Hard Scale Pokemon snapped, clutching at his stomach, his eyes roaming the arena.

Pumpkaboo, a smirk on her face, winked. "No one messes with my Lord!"

Upon hearing that again, Dhelmise groaned. "DON'T START THAT BULLCRAP!"

Tsareena was standing idly in the middle of the court, eyeing the Pokemon around her curiously. Krokorok, standing towards the side of the court, watched as Banette readied herself to throw the ball towards the ditz.

"Well," the croc muttered to himself. "I should save her. Tsareena is sort of on my team, after all." After a long sigh, he waved his arms in the air, calling out wildly, "Banette! Look over here!"

Banette's head jerked backwards as she looked up with startled confusion, dropping the ball with surprise. Seeing her vulnerability, Salazzle seized the opportunity, snatching a ball from the ground and throwing it towards Banette, instantly eliminating the ghost-type.

Tsareena just blinked once that happened.

"Nice shot for a bitch who's aching for Hard Shelled Service," Dhelmise teased at Salazzle, earning himself a ball heading his way. However, he swiftly dodged it, causing it to hit Musharna, who was still snoozing away. "Thanks for confirming it!"

Lycanroc groaned. "Dhelmise, could you _not_ antagonize these guys further?"

"Oh come on, it's funny and you know it!" the Sea Creeper replied as he floated a ball in front of himself, deflecting it back toward Haxorus, the original thrower, getting her out..

Lycanroc sighed before she jumped over a ball heading in her direction.

Pyukumuku was doing pretty decently, as he was in the back away from the action, while also dodging balls that came his way. As he looked around the court, he noticed that Shroomish was being intimidated by Exeggutor. With a shrug, he picked up a ball that was close to him and flung it toward the Coconut Pokemon, causing him to be teleported out of the game.

Pyukumuku noticed Shroomish look at him, so he waved cheerily. However, once the mushroom sighed, he was hit in the face with another ball, causing him to flinch slightly. "Oops…"

Seconds later, a wild ball hit him in the side, eliminating him as well.

 **000**

" **Oh well, I tried," Pyukumuku chirped.**

 **000**

As members of Shaymin's cast continued savagely flinging the balls towards each other, Lycanroc couldn't help but notice the looks of agitation that were growing on their faces.

"Come on guys, you've gotta think off this as a fun game instead of just a challenge!" Lycanroc advised before doing a backflip and grabbing a ball tossed by Krokorok in mid-air.

The crocodile cursed to himself before being teleported off of the court.

"Wow, she is _awesome_ ," Absol cooed, eyeing Lycanroc dreamily.

"Hey! Lover boy! Now is _not_ the time for-" Buneary didn't get to finish as she was immediately cut off by a ball hitting her in the stomach, courtesy of Dhelmise.

"BUNEARY!" Gastly shrieked. The ghost ended up distracting himself due to Buneary's elimination from the game, earning him a ball to the face from Garchomp.

"Way too easy," the land shark commented, folding her arms.

"Don't get too comfortable over there!" Hakamo-o called. "It's not over yet!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, however, a ball smacked her straight in the face, courtesy of Zoroark.

"Looks like it is," Zoroark commented, smiling apologetically as Hakamo-o was teleported out.

 **000**

" **Lucky shot…" Hakamo-o mumbled, rubbing her nose.**

 **000**

On the other side of the field, Tsareena was still standing idly.

"Come on, Tsareena," Absol prodded. "There is a ball right next to you. Just stand up, move, pick it up and help us out!"

Tsareena only blinked at him in response, as if she couldn't move any other part of her body.

Sighing, Absol reached out to grab the ball. To his dismay, the moment his hand made contact with the ball, a wave of electricity shocked him, his fur dispersing at rigid angles. After the spark of electricity spread through his entire body, the dark-type found himself unable to move.

"Oh, shit," he muttered. "The ball paralyzed me!"

Just as he said it, Skitty began to prance towards that same ball, jumping jauntily as she reached it. "I'm going to hit someone out!"

"No!" Absol cried out as she passed him. "Don't touch that ball! You'll get-"

To his despair, Skitty had already reached out and clawed it, sending the same wave of electricity coursing through her body.

"Paralyzed," Absol finished with a sigh, watching the stunned Skitty through his peripheral vision.

Lycanroc, seeing this, couldn't help but to giggle. "Sorry cutie, looks like you three are going to be easy outs," she teased with a wink as she tossed three balls toward the other side, with all three hitting their marks.

"Well, this can only go so well," Dhelmise commented. "I suggest we proceed with caution now. These types of scenarios are cliche as all hell."

"What are you on about?!" Garchomp snapped. "There's three of them left, and five of us. Plus, they have Stunfisk; we have Lycanroc."

On cue, Lycanroc had hurtled two balls straight towards Froslass and Vespiquen, getting both of them out of the game. The Wolf Pokemon, panting, passed the Mach Pokemon a look of seriousness. "No, Dhelmise is right. In these cases, there's usually a 90 to 100 percent chance that the final player on the opposing team will demolish us, no matter who they are."

"You guys honestly need to chill," Meowstic huffed, reaching down to pick the ball beside him. "This is _Stunfisk_ we're talking about-" As his paws made contact with the ball in front of him, a blue light began to protrude from the ball, blinding him momentarily as the piercing light shot beams all over the court.

"Shit," Zoroark cursed as a beam struck her feet, effectively rendering her unable to down at her feet, she noticed that ice had begun to develop, numbing her limbs. "I'm frozen!"

Dhelmise groaned in annoyance. "Now what the hell did I say?! Now we're stuck."

"Look at that, guys!" Absol called out from the spectator stands, where all the eliminated contestants had been teleported. "We have a chance!"

"A slim one," Froslass countered. "Do you really think that Stunfisk will get her shit together and start-"

"Eeeeek!"

Everyone abruptly snapped their heads to face Stunfisk, who was squealing as she darted around the court. "Get these filthy balls away from me!" she hissed, smacking the balls forwards as she dashed around the room hysterically.

Every ball she had run into was sent firing into the Kyogres side of the court, rolling sleekly on the wooden floor until it hit Zoroark, Garchomp, Meowstic, Lycanroc and finally Dhelmise, who growled as the ball made contact with him.

"Called it," he groaned tonelessly, glaring at the rest of the Kyogres.

Shaymin, howling with laughter, clutched her stomach as she boisterously giggled. Solgaleo and Lunala both had smiles etched on their faces.

"Well," Shaymin finally said, wiping a tear from her eye. "In a surprising turn of events, Stunfisk has one a point for the Groudons! Let round two begin!"

 **000**

" **This is what happens when you have a bunch of idiots who have never seen these shows or any actual movies before," Dhelmise said with a glare. "And the fact that the ugly fish spazzed out and got ALL of us out shows how dumb and random these shows are."**

 **000**

After the whistle pierced through the stadium, the contestants from either side were hurtling balls at each other at a rapid pace. Tsareena had been standing around yet again, not moving an inch as Lucario hit both her and Buneary.

He threw another ball at Salazzle, who thrusted herself backwards just in time to escape the ball. In response, she aimed a ball straight at him, the round leather material slicing through the air as it smacked into Lucario.

Haxorus scooped a ball from the ground, gawking at its weight. "Why is this so heavy?" she gasped to herself, before flinging it with all her might towards the other team.

The ball, in midair, suddenly exploded, revealing smaller balls flailing in the air, pelting the Kyogres. The smaller balls, like hail, crashed into Garchomp, Primarina and Musharna, sending them stumbling towards the ground before they were teleported out.

Clumsily, Gastly reached down to pick a ball, growling slightly as he realised that he could not pick up the ball.

"Aw, poor Gastly," Ex sympathised, frowning empathetically.

Tor snickered. "The loser can't do anything without that bunny, can he?"

Hearing this, Gastly's facial features began to brim with embarrassment. As Tor continued to jeer at him, his tentative eyes hardened, a sudden wave of wrath washing over him.

"G-guys?" Egg called out suddenly.

Tor hissed at his brother. "What?"

"Inco-o-oming!"

To their horror, Gastly had picked up a ball with his mouth, throwing with with blinding speed towards the brothers, his face glowing with triumph as the ball slammed into the faces of the Egg Brothers.

"Take that, motherfuckers!" Gastly shrieked.

Before he even registered his own burst of excitement, he heard a whoop from the stands on the side.

"Go, Gastly!" Buneary was cheering, waving a fist in the air. Grinning proudly, Gastly turned back to his opponents, reaching down to pluck another ball before firing it towards Banette.

 **000**

" **Lame..." Dhelmise commented.**

 **000**

Shaymin's cast continued plowing each other with balls.

Meanwhile, Lycanroc had just caught a ball thrown by Froslass, instantly eliminating the ghost-type. Dashing around the room with incredible speed, she suddenly stopped as she realised that many of the Guzzling Groudons were watching her hungrily, at least six of them aiming a ball towards her.

"Sorry, love," Noctowl apologized with a meek smile. "We have to target the threats." Without hesitated, she threw a ball at Lycanroc, accompanied by Golisopod, Krokorok, Skitty, Shroomish and Haxorus.

Lycanroc smiled to herself and began bobbing and weaving to avoid being hit by the balls. However, the one tossed by the Skitty was able to strike her arm.

"Aw… Nice job, though guys", she groaned amusedly.

Lycanroc shook her head boisterously as she was teleported out.

 **000**

" **They saw me as a threat," Lycanroc recollected. "Awesome…"**

 **000**

After more balls were hurled, eventually Dhelmise was left with only Pancham on the Kyogres, while the Groudons still had about eleven of their members left.

However, that didn't last long, as Hakamo-o struck Pancham in the gut with a ball. Dhelmise snickered to himself as the small panda was teleported off of the court.

"Looks like it is the eleven of us against Dhelmise," Krokorok noted, analytically surveying the room. "We better watch out; this guy always seems to mean trouble."

"Yeah," Noctowl agreed. "I bet that as soon as one of us picks up a ball, it'll explode and we'll all be automatically eliminated. We'll have to be careful-"

Her calm voice was interrupted by a shriek from the spectator stands.

"What are you doing, Gastly?!" Buneary was hissing, waving her arms in a frenzied heap. "Don't just stand there! Get that asshole out!"

After shooting an apologetic grin towards Noctowl, Gastly called out to Buneary, "But Buneary, we think there might be a trick! I might pick up a ball and it'll be some bad plot twist that gets me eliminated!"

"I don't care! Stop being cowardly and _just do it!_ "

Dhelmise shot the scaredy ghost a look of annoyance. " _Hmm...destroy all of these fucks with a single ball and get just one fucking point, or help ghost boy possibly get laid by a future Lopunny,"_ he thought to himself.

"Don't do it," Shroomish warned, but Gastly was too focused on impressing Buneary to pay any attention to the small mushroom. Though tentative, Gastly grabbed a ball with his mouth and hurled it towards Dhelmise.

Skitty covered her own eyes with her tail. "I can't look. Otherwise I'll go _ball_ istic!" She moved her tail away from her eyes, watching the reaction of her team-mates "Get it? _Ball_ istic? Because we're playing dodge- _ball?"_

Dhelmise groaned to himself upon hearing that horrible joke. And, he has decided that demolishing their entire team wasn't worth the effort if one point was all he was going to get, so he just floated in place, allowing the ball to hit him.

To everyone's surprise, the Sea Creeper was instantly teleported out of the arena.

"Looks like the Groudons have won round two!" Shaymin exclaimed excitedly. "Since there were eleven Groudons left - Golisopod, Shroomish, Haxorus Salazzle, Krokorok, Vespiquen, Gastly, Noctowl, Skitty, Pyukumuku and Hakamo-o - they get eleven points! This means that they are on a total of twelve points!"

 **0000**

 **Lycanroc sighed. "Dhelmise knew he could have destroyed them, but I guess he didn't feel it was necessary."**

 **0000**

"Okay team," Zoroark sighed, turning to face the contestants in the Kyogres. "We seriously need to up our game, otherwise the Groudons are going to win. Any ideas?"

"I have an idea-" Dhelmise started. "How about we-" Before he even had the chance to continue, Garchomp threw a hand over his mouth, keeping him from continuing.

Meowstic nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Garchomp."

The dragon-type only grunted in response as Dhelmise shot her an annoyed look.

"The goal of this game is to receive thirteen points," Magikarp pointed out thoughtfully. "So, if we win the next round without any of us getting eliminated, we will automatically win the challenge, as there are fourteen of us on this team."

"But how can we ensure that none of us get hit?" Primarina asked, worriedly eyeing her team members.

Suddenly, a long, slow grin began to spread up Meowstic's mouth.

"Wait," Meowstic said abruptly, holding his hands out. "So, there were no rules about not being able to use moves or abilities, right?"

Pancham nodded. "Right."

"And Musharna and I are psychic-types, right?"

Pumpkaboo narrowed her eyes. "Where are you going with this?"

Shaking his head, Meowstic's grin broadened.

"I have a plan."

 **000**

"Let round three begin!"

The Kyogres and Groudons stood their ground, segregated by the fine line between their courts. As soon as the whistle blew, the Groudons rushed forwards to retrieve the balls, whilst the Kyogres held their ground.

"That's weird," Froslass commented, examining her opponents. Not a single one of them had moved, yet there seemed to be a unanimous treaty between the members as they remained still. "What are they doing?"

"They've probably given up," Golisopod suggested with a smirk. "Let's just make this quick."

"Kay!" Pyukumuku chirped excitedly.

One by one, the Groudons began pelting the Kyogres with balls, throwing them with as much energy and conviction as they could muster. As soon as the balls began to enter the Kyogres side of the court, however, the balls were suddenly halted in midair, floating about the air.

"What the fuck?" Salazzle spluttered, watching as the ball she had thrown had stopped abruptly, remaining frozen high above the ground.

" _Oh_ ," Shroomish finally gasped, pointing at Musharna and Meowstic, who were along the edges of the court, both of their eyes glowing with some sort of psychic ability. "Look at Meowstic and Musharna! I think they're using their psychic powers to make a sort of psychic net in the air; and it's stopping all the balls from landing on them."

Hakamo-o cursed. "Shit! Stop throwing the balls! Stop throwing the balls!"

But it was too late. Glancing around her, she noted that the Groudons had already tossed all their balls forwards. The psychic net that had caught all the balls was beginning to brim with colour, as if the psychic barrier itself was mocking them. Doing a quick count, Noctowl shook her head.

"There are just about twenty balls in that net. What are they going to do? Just keep all the balls in midair and wait for Shaymin to lose her patience?" she asked, bewildered.

Dhelmise snickered, before reaching out and grabbing one of the balls. "You wish." With a swift throw, the ball knocked Noctowl directly on the head, eliminating her.

Suddenly, each member of the Kyogres had grabbed a ball for themselves, hurtling it towards a member of the Groudons mercilessly. Too shocked to react, most of them had been eliminated instantly.

The few that had survived the hail storm of dodgeballs had attempted to throw a ball at the Kyogres again, only for it to be once against caught by the psychic net and ricochet straight back at them.

"Fuck yeah!" Pumpkaboo exclaimed as she aimed her ball at the final member of the Groudons - Krokorok - sending him sprawling to the ground. "We actually did it!"

"Psychic buddies, for the win," Meowstic sighed, visibly exhausted as he attempted to high-five Musharna.

Shaymin stepped down from the podium, alongside Solgaleo and Lunala.

"Well, since the Kyogres completely trashed that round with all fourteen of them remaining in the game, they have reached fourteen points; so they win the dodgeball challenge!"

With a cheer, the Kyogres all grinned amongst each other; even Lycanroc seemed to be enjoying herself as she exchanged a fist-bump with Zoroark.

"Looks like Musharna isn't as useless as she seems," Magikarp murmured, snickering. "Good, then. At least we are saved from another elimination."

After hearing that, Shaymin cackled. "Not so fast, fish fillet! Just because you won, doesn't mean that you've _won_."

"What do you mean?" Lycanroc asked curiously, glancing tentatively towards Solgaleo and Lunala.

After a sigh, Lunala shook her head. "Well, the rule was that all contestants - excluding Meat Train Lycanroc, Lurantis and Espeon - must take part in this challenge; otherwise the team is automatically disqualified."

"And since not all of your team members were participating," Solgaleo continued. "That means that the Kyogres have actually been disqualified from the challenge. Which means that, in reality, the Guzzling Groudons have won."

"What are you talking about?" Garchomp demanded. "Everyone in our team participated."

Shaymin grinned.

" _Everyone_?"

The Kyogres all exchanged wary glances, the ball rolling in their heads as they tried to distinguish who had been missing or which member had not taken part in the challenge. Finally, after moments of thought, the ball finally dropped and, in unison, they all exclaimed:

" _Jigglypuff and Ribombee!_ "

"That's what I was going to say before we started!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "Shaymin had that look on her face that most hosts have when they're planning bullshit. I knew that we were going to win, regardless."

"Uh huh, and why were you still trying hard, then?" asked Dhelmise.

"This game involves slamming balls onto different parts of the body with force," Hakamo-o started before realizing what other thing she was possibly describing. "Don't you even say _anything_ Dhelmise!"

The Sea Creeper rolled his non-existent eyes.

 **000**

Later that night, once everyone returned, Shaymin sat her podium, Bellossom beside her. Solgaleo and Lunala, as well as the final six were standing on the side. Tsareena, Pyukumuku, and Lycanroc were waving, while the other three just eyed the Kyogres.

"Before our elimination ceremony today, I would just like to thank Solgaleo and Lunala for participating in this collaboration with us today!" Shaymin exclaimed, gesturing towards the two hosts beside her. "Thank you for an enjoyable episode, and your cast rocks. I wish them all well for the finals. Except Dhelmise. Dhelmise can go and die in an undersized hole."

Dhelmise was about respond, but Lunala had already begun speaking.

"The pleasure is ours, Shaymin. Enjoy your elimination."

Shaymin grinned. "You bet I will. Enjoy your journey back home!"

The Sunne and Moone hosts nodded as they teleported themselves and the contestants off of Shaymin's island.

 **000**

Once back on Akala Island, the six contestants had relieved expressions on their faces, excluding Pyukumuku and Tsareena.

"So, how'd you guys like it?"

"They were weird, pathetic, unfunny-"

"Someone _other_ than Dhelmise," Lunala urged.

"It was pretty cool," Lycanroc shrugged.

"It was fun to me!" Pyukumuku chirped. "They were cool!"

"I couldn't complain _that_ much, so I guess it's it's a good thing," Hakamo-o replied.

"Deceit was afoot," Shiinotic said with his same smile. "One by one her competitors will learn the harsh reality that not everyone is who they really seem."

Everyone stared at the mushroom for a few seconds.

"Okay, did he just have a smart moment?" asked Hakamo-o, dumbfounded.

"Just get him outta here!" Dhelmise insisted. "He wasn't there for either challenge and it's obvious that one of the two fucks that wasn't there from their show is getting the boot. Just cut out the middleman."

"For once I agree," Solgaleo stated. "Shiinotic, you're out."

The mushroom hastily disappeared, startling them.

"Uh...okay, then," Lunala started. "You all head back inside and we'll see you all next time."

"Okay!" Pyukumuku responded as he and the others headed back into the hotel.

The hosts exchanged glances. "You think Shaymin will learn to hide her crush on Victini a bit better?"

Lunala shrugged. "Who knows? Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed our first crossover special! And we'll see you next time on Total Pokemon: Alola!"

 **000**

 **And...done! Phew. This took a while. Thanks to maycontestdrew for putting up with my zaniness. She's very very cool, and if you haven't already, check out her Total Phokemon Island. It's pretty much the one that's receiving the most acclaim from people, so it should be as to find among the others. Hope we can do it again sometime! So anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total Pokemon: Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**


	12. Episode 12: You Gotta Dig Deep!

**IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER CROSSOVER SPECIAL! YEEEEEEEAH!**

 **000**

Following the crossover with Shaymin and her cast, the Sunne and Moone Pokemon were both feeling confident about their show's popularity. The exposure from the more well-renown show really helped boost their ratings and self-confidence.

At the moment, both hosts were in the hall; it was 8:43 at night, meaning that Lunala was the one up and about. The lunar bat was heading from the kitchen after getting a few popsicles for herself, ignoring the loud noises coming from the living room, where the guys were STILL having their movie marathon, which was understandable considering the amount of movies that were in the world, but it was getting annoying.

Passing by Solgaleo's room, she heard the faint ringing of a telephone. She didn't know anyone who'd call Solgaleo since majority of all of the legendaries were here already, so her curiosity was piqued.

Floating through his door with her ghostliness, she picked up the phone.

"Oh, hey Victini…" she greeted.

"..."

"Uh...yeah, sure…" she replied, a bit nervous, hearing his tone of voice. "Uh, are you feeling okay? You sound nervous about something."

"..."

"Uh...no one's dead on our side," Lunala replied, sweat dropping. "So, try to calm down."

"!"

"Yes, the dimension thing is confusing, but just try to-"

"..."

"Uh...alright then, we'll see you tomo-"

She heard a thud over the phone, followed by a dial tone, causing confusion on her side. "Hello? Victini?" she queried, a bit unhinged from the good Victini's panicked tone. She eventually shrugged it off and hung up the phone.

Lunala floated over to Solgaleo's sleeping form; the large white feline was lying on his back with his covers over him, the blankets moving up and down in sync with his breathing. She almost didn't want to wake him. _Almost_.

She smacked him with one of her wings, which only caused his nose to twitch. She sighed in immediate exasperation; she remembered that he sometimes doesn't feel a thing when sleeping. She covered his muzzle with one of her hands, which initially didn't do much, but in due time, the Sunne Pokemon started struggling and shifting in his sleep.

Eventually, his eyes popped open and he saw Lunala suffocating him. Once his eyes popped open, Lunala released his muzzle, allowing him to breathe. "WHAT THE HELL, LUNALA?!" he croaked, catching his breath.

"Sorry," she apologized. "You just got a call from Victini and he said that he and his competitors would be coming tomorrow."

Solgaleo sighed. "Okay," he responded before promptly passing back out.

Lunala shook her head with a sigh before floating out of his room.

 **000**

16.1 hours passed

 **000**

Five out of the final six contestants were all on the seventh floor. Most of them were still recoiling from their experience on Shaymin's island. Those guys _really_ had it rough. Incineroar, having not gone, was filled in by Lycanroc once they got back, and based on what she said, things sounded pretty decent for the most part.

"I hope that we never have another collaboration again," Hakamo-o stated brashly. "That was so annoying! Magikarp worshipping? A worthless challenge!? What was that!?"

"How do you think I feel?" Dhelmise asked.

"I don't care about how you feel!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, her eyes tightening in a glower toward the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

"I'm not surprised that Tsareena was able to handle herself poorly," Lycanroc said, sitting in Incineroar's lap. "No offense to her."

"No, no. _Offense_ ," Dhelmise yielded. "She did practically nothing to help her sorry excuse of a team."

"Dhelmise, why didn't you take out their entire team when you had the chance?" Lycanroc asked tentatively. "I mean, I _think_ I understand, I just want-"

"Oh yes, get one point for taking out eleven people, that's completely fair," Dhelmise snarkily said, rolling his non-existent eyes.

Lycanroc shrugged, her assumption being correct.

"Well, I'm just glad that Shiinotic's gone again," Incineroar spoke, stroking Lycanroc's fur.

"Hey, the creep completely abandoned the challenge and kidnapped two of Shaymin's players," Dhelmise explained. "It was inevitable."

"Exactly," Hakamo-o replied.

"Well, I wouldn't say that we should never have another crossover again," Pyukumuku chirped. "It's fun interacting with other people! And at least knowing that we're not truly alone in these types of shows."

"We watch television, we know we're not alone in these situations…" Dhelmise said tonelessly.

"Well, maybe if we have another one, you guys will like the people there more," Pyukumuku cheerily suggested.

The other four exchanged looks momentarily.

"Doubt it," Hakamo-o stated.

"Ditto," Dhelmise agreed.

"I didn't experience it, so I don't really care," Incineroar informed with a shrug.

"Eh, I'm half-and-half about the situation," Lycanroc admitted, raking her fur back only for it to flop back forward. "I don't mind, but I'm also not too fond of it."

Suddenly, Hakamo-o's stomach grumbled, as she hadn't eaten anything yet. And ever since Togedemaru was eliminated, all of the food had actually started tasting better.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some breakfast," Hakamo-o said, standing up and heading to the elevators.

"Fine. No need to announce it…" Dhelmise replied.

Hakamo-o glared at him before continuing to go. The remaining four sat in silence for a while before Pyukumuku spoke up. "Wanna hear about how weird my life is?" he queried cutely.

The other three exchanged glances.

 **000**

Hakamo-o made it to the buffet area and started to gather some food on a plate. It felt a bit empty with Togedemaru gone, but it was far better without her. She decided to peek out the window just to admire the view, but noticed something completely shocking. She noticed that other Pokemon were walking down the street toward the hotel...led by Victini!

Her eyes widened and she immediately rushed out of the buffet area and toward the elevators.

 **-000-**

"And that's why my life is strange. The end," Pyukumuku finished as Incineroar, Lycanroc, and Dhelmise had disturbed expressions on their faces.

"Uh...how did you even-"

"GUYS!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, jumping out of the elevator. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but Victini's outside and he's got other Pokemon with him!"

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed.

Lycanroc growled angrily. "That little bastard had better not be here to fuck with me…"

"I honestly doubt that he's _that_ dumb," Dhelmise replied.

"What Pokemon were there?" asked Incineroar. "How many?"

"Uh, I don't know, I didn't count. As soon as I saw Victini, I came back up here," Hakamo-o replied.

"I swear if this is an ambush, it'll be therapy all over again," Pyukumuku said.

"COMPETITORS! REPORT TO THE LOBBY IMMEDIATELY FOR ANOTHER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!" Solgaleo roared.

"Wait...if Victini's here, does that mean-"

"Oh...FUCK!" Hakamo-o swore in realization.

 **000**

The five of them made it to the lobby, where they saw both hosts waiting yet again, only this time, both were wide awake.

"Why is Victini outside?" asked Lycanroc, baring her teeth.

"Calm down Lycanroc, that's not the same Victini that fucked with your family's graves," Solgaleo explained, trying to calm her down. "It's a different, good one."

"What?!"

"We don't know," Solgaleo replied, not really caring about the dimension problem. "However, what we _do_ know is that he is here with his own contestants for another crossover merge special!"

Hakamo-o and Dhelmise let out a shared moan of displeasure.

"Oh get over it," Lunala jeered. "You'll be fine. They're at their merge as well, so there's a lot less to deal with."

"As if that makes a difference," Dhelmise said, rolling his eyes.

Looking over the competitors, Solgaleo noticed that someone was missing. "Uh, we're missing Tsareena."

"Who cares?" Hakamo-o said with shrug. "She'll probably mess something up this time and get herself eliminated again."

Lunala immediately teleported the ditzy Fruit Pokemon into the lobby with the rest of them. She was completely wet, so it could be assumed that she was in the shower.

"Aw...I ended up wetting myself again," she moaned, looking at her arms. "That's no fun…"

"It's only fun when it's the place between your legs that's wet," Dhelmise commented.

"What are legs?"

Dhelmise sighed at her idiocy.

"Just hurry up and bring them in. They're on our island now, so we have the control this time," Incineroar commented boldly, folding his arms.

"You're still gay. Stop trying to act tough," Dhelmise jeered, earning him a death glare from the tiger.

 **-000-**

Solgaleo and Lunala exited the hotel, with a few of Victini's contestants staring up in complete shock. "What's up, Victini?" Solgaleo greeted.

"Well, an obnoxious pig nearly killed us by crashing into Paniola Ranch, but it's fine because this shit literally happens every day for me," Victini responded, his eye twitching. "How are you?"

"Just fine," Solgaleo replied with a pleasant nod.

"Hello again, Solgaleo," Hariyama said quietly, with a respectful nod.

"Hello Hariyama," the large feline greeted in return.

"Uh, hello! I'm here, too," Lunala interjected, a scowl plastered on her face.

Hariyama chuckled. "How could Hariyama forget? How have friends been?"

"Pretty good," Lunala replied. "Barring one unbearably annoying contestant…"

Victini glanced ahead into the hotel. "Uh...why is your cast glaring at me? Is this what culture shock feels like?"

"Nah mate, you're just ugly," Tepig said, walking forward with the rest of the cast. "Wonderful. More legendaries."

"Wonderful, more contestants," Solgaleo retorted. "And there are...eleven of you. Interesting number, I suppose."

"Well, twelve, if you count-"

"We don't count MR. PINEAPPLE, Tepig!" Victini snarled. "Sorry about Tepig. Ignore him and he'll probably leave you alone."

"Oh, don't you mind. We have our very own 'Tepig' in the hotel right now," Lunala said. "He's actually worse. A LOT worse."

"Blasphemy," Tepig hissed.

"Hey, anyone who's not Tepig, want to introduce yourself?" Victini shouted, interrupting the snarky pig before he could continue his rambles. "How many contestants do you have left, Solgaleo?"

"Six," the lion responded.

"Ahh. Final stretch, is it?" Hariyama said with a chuckle. "Looking forward to making with the meeting of them."

"Well, you may enjoy some more than others, so…" Lunala remarked. "You may take that back."

"Hariyama has spent many millennia-ER decades! Decades spent with little shits. Nothing I can't handle."

"If you insist," Solgaleo shrugged. "Come on in."

The Sunne and Moone Pokemon headed back to the hotel doors, with the lion holding the door open for them all.

 **000**

Once they were all inside, the final six looked over the final eleven from the other show intently.

"Well, lookie at what we have here," Dhelmise snarked. "Eleven little losers from another shitty show."

"Was the bit about us being losers really necessary?" a perturbed looking Zorua asked.

"That's Dhelmise," Lunala introduced. "Like we said, worse than your Tepig…"

"Well of course, he's an ugly ass living anchor," Tepig snorted. "What else can he do with his life? Doesn't seem to have the limbs necessary to do most jobs."

"Okay, two things," Dhelmise started. "One. I'm fucking _seaweed_ , and I'm also a _ghost_ , so my lack of limbs isn't a hindrance at all on my life. I could still fuck your bitch. And two, you're literally part of a balanced breakfast. We've eaten a lot of your kind here in our great hotel, so you have literally no room to talk down to anyone. Especially when you sound like a bootleg British snob."

Tepig grinned. "Ohohoho. I'm getting back at you for that, you magnificent green bastard."

"We'll see about that," Dhelmise replied.

"Hey, douchebag bonding, how pleasant," Hakamo-o commented, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms.

"Wonderful, there's two of them now," Zorua muttered. "Least Ninjask's gone."

"You know, I'm actually offended that MY assholery wasn't mentioned," an Umbreon grumbled. "I am also a registered douchebag, and I demand to be treated as such."

"Yeah, no. You're the second-place Eeveelution cum dumpster, second to only Flareon, of course," Dhelmise replied. "That status of your species completely overshadows your individual personality."

"Sorry 'bout that, sheila," Tepig said in a mock sympathetic tone. "Biological makeup screwed you over."

"Hey! If you three will stop flirting, I was wondering if there were any unassuming, small Pokemon that stay under the radar?" a Munchlax piped up. "Cuz if there are, you're among friends."

"Oh, well he's not necessarily under the radar," Lycanroc started, looking down beside herself before kneeling down and picking him up. "But, we have Pyukumuku."

"Hello", the Sea Cucumber Pokemon chirped, waving a hand.

"Join our merry band of pirates!" Munchlax shouted, gesturing to Shuckle, who groaned in response.

"Uh… Okay, I guess," Pyukumuku responded.

"I can just tell you now that doing that isn't going to go well for you," Hakamo-o explained, eyeing Pyukumuku hesitantly.

"We're not selective!" Munchlax said.

"Apparently, not, given the Scrafty situation," Shuckle deadpanned.

"-So you should join us too!" Munchlax said to Hakamo-o hopefully.

"Uh, no thanks. I'd rather stick to my guns," Hakamo-o replied, folding her arms. "No offense, but I doubt either of you will make it further than this."

"Haka!" Lycanroc scolded, hands on her hips.

"Hey, it's common sense!" Hakamo-o replied. "People trying to stay under the radar hardly ever win these shows anymore. It's a useless strategy."

"NOBODY CALLS MY STRATEGIES USELESS!" Shuckle shouted. "I'LL KILL HER!"

"Dude, calm down," Munchlax whispered.

"I AM VERY SORRY, BUT I'VE BEEN COOPED UP ON THAT PLANE TOO LONG!" Shuckle shouted. "I need to get the screaming out of my system!"

"So, are we going to move on to the challenge or are we just gonna keep standing around and listen to these guys?" Incineroar inquired.

"Well, we're gonna offer you guys a bit of a grace period to get to know each other and let Victini's contestants get a breather considering their near-death experience," Lunala explained, eyeing the thirteen visitors thoughtfully.

Incineroar sighed. "Fine," he groaned.

"Sweet!" shouted an Infernape that looked like he had been dying to insert himself into the conversation. "Can we get a tour?"

"Here's your tour," Dhelmise started. "This is the lobby. Second floor is for food. The third through sixth floors are our rooms, and the seventh floor is the recreation floor. There."

"Seems reasonable!" Infernape said.

"Wow, actual organization?" Slowking asked. "Victini, you could learn a thing or two."

"Can it, Sleeping Beauty," Victini growled.

"So, it's... 11:24 right now," Solgaleo noted, looking at the clock. He turned his attention back to Victini's cast. "We usually start the challenges around 10, but since you guys got here unconventionally, we're gonna just leave you all together and you'll just deal with each other until noon. That's when we'll start the challenges."

"Oh come on!" Hakamo-o roared. She just wanted to get the challenges over with; Shaymin's crossover really soured her opinion of these publicity stunts.

"Deal with it," Lunala retorted. "Victini, Hariyama, you're welcome to come to the hall with us while they interact and such."

"Uh...sure," Victini said. "Enjoy yourselves in the meantime, guys!"

The three hosts and Hariyama teleported out of the hotel in an instant, leaving the seventeen contestants alone in the lobby, exchanging unsure glances about what to do next.

"How's the show for you guys?" Lucario asked. "Fun? Because in our case…"

"It's pretty much the same mind-numbing, painstaking drivel that we all have to deal with," Dhelmise explained.

"But, on the bright side, we get good food, television, actual beds, and a place to play games and lift weights…" Lycanroc chirped.

"Eh, come to think of it, we don't have it too bad either," Scrafty admitted. "Besides the island's general crappiness, at least we're actually getting good food now."

"Cool," Pyukumuku replied.

The two groups continued standing around in silence.

"So, what games you guys got?" Munchlax asked, trying to break the silence.

"I'd like to get a workout in, if anyone wants to show me where I can find it. Anyone want to be my sparring partner?" Lucario asked. "I'd ask Infernape, but I think the continuous blows to the head might start to become a threat to his already limited brain cells."

"Hey, then he'll be perfect with this ditz," Dhelmise said, pushing Tsareena toward the chimp, who started blushing slightly.

"Uh...h-hi," he greeted.

Tsareena blinked in response. "What's hi?"

"See what I mean?" Dhelmise drawled.

"Incineroar and I can show you to the workout room, Lucario," Lycanroc replied, answering the jackal's question. "And I'm sure Hakamo-o would love be your sparring partner. Right, Haka?"

"Love… Might be an understatement," Hakamo-o replied, passing Lucario a competitive smirk.

"Careful, she's a raging dyke," Umbreon warned. "Not sure if you want to get….intimate with someone like her."

"I will Aura Sphere you to oblivion," Lucario growled, hands covering her eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh there's no problem with gays here," Dhelmise chimed in. "We've got a raging fag right here," he said, gesturing to Incineroar, who twitched.

The tiger growled savagely, clenching his fists. "I WILL RIP YOU OFF OF THAT DAMNED ANCHOR AND IMMOLATE YOU TO SHIINOTIC'S GOD!"

"See what I mean?" Dhelmise replied.

Incineroar was prepared to fulfill his threat, but Lycanroc held him back. "Okay, uh… Lucario, why don't you just come with us?" the wolf asked, still trying to prevent her friend from harming Dhelmise.

"Uh… sure," the jackal replied tentatively.

Hakamo-o started heading to the elevators, with Lycanroc hopping onto Incineroar's back before following her. Lucario was still hiding a partial blush due to Umbreon's comment, but followed the three of them.

"Don't drop the soap!" Dhelmise called.

"Fuck off!" Hakamo-o retorted, glaring at him as the elevator doors closed.

Once the four of them were gone, the room filled with silence. Munchlax spoke up once again.

"So, is no one going to answer my question?" the bear inquired. "What games do you guys have?"

"Well, we've got stuff like GTA, Halo, Call of Duty, Mario Kart…" Pyukumuku started.

"W-wow," Munchlax said, drooling a little. "We had like….nothing back at our camp. Do you know how boring Wii Sports gets after a while?"

"This place is the first time I've ever played a video game," Pyukumuku said with the same cheeriness in his voice. "Well, the ones that they've got here anyway. And there's no Wii…"

"Wait, how do you play games with one hand?" Shuckle asked.

"Oh, I haven't played that much lately, but I just leave it on the ground and press buttons," Pyukumuku explained, giving a thumbs up.

"I'd respond in kind, but uh….noodle arms," Shuckle said sheepishly.

"So can we go?" Munchlax asked, his eyes wide.

" _Please_ ," Dhelmise insisted. "Being around people like you annoy the hell out of me. Pyukumuku is okay, but two more losers is just… ugh."

"I'll take you guys," Pyukumuku said, hopping toward the elevators. Munchlax and Shuckle glared at Dhelmise for a few seconds before following the sea cucumber to the elevators.

Once the three of them left, Dhelmise floated to the sitting area and groaned. Tepig and Umbreon exchanged glances before deciding to head toward him, leaving Tsareena alone with Infernape, Slowking, Zorua, Gallade, and Charizard.

"You look….REALLY smart Tsareena!" Infernape said, giving her a look of awe.

"What's smart?" Tsareena replied, tilting her head in confusion.

"Whoa, and she's so contemplative," Infernape whispered. "It's like she's so smart she isn't smart, right?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Slowking asked, mystified.

"She's so philosophical!" Infernape said. "She can barely even stand in her enlightenment!"

"I….suppose there's no way one could truly be THAT dumb," Slowking said hesitantly. "What do you have to say to that, Tsareena?"

"I like soup," she replied.

"Oh my God! Soup is like, your favorite thing!" Infernape yelped. "Coincidence, I think not!"

Tsareena blinked in response.

"Stop wasting your time over there!" Dhelmise bellowed from the side. "She's a complete dunce. Asking questions or talking her doesn't do shit for her! She'll just stare at you."

"Well did you try staring back?" Infernape shouted back, before glaring at her.

"I'm not dealing with this, someone feed me," Zorua groaned.

"You should've gone with the three stooges, they're the only ones who'd give a damn," Dhelmise yelled. "Plus, like I said, it's on the second floor."

"Eh, whatever, I'll go with you," Charizard said with a shrug. "I'm always hungry after plane rides."

Slowking raised a hand. "Is there anywhere I could lie my head down? I have narcoleptic issues."

"I call bullshit, but there's beanbag chairs on the seventh floor where the other idiots are," Dhelmise explained. "Or, you could ask Pyukumuku when you get up there. He'll let you sleep in his room."

Slowking teleported away.

"D-did you know he could do that?" Zorua asked Gallade. "Wait, you're a psychic. Can YOU do that?"

"I've never tried," Gallade admitted. Zorua shrugged and left with Charizard, leaving Tsareena and Infernape staring at each other.

 **-000-**

"Any particular reason you two are still here?" Dhelmise questioned, as Tepig and Umbreon were sitting in front of him. "I've told you about the hotel, so why don't you skedaddle?"

"Because being annoying on purpose is fun?" Tepig asked with an innocent smile.

"I uh...actually had a question that I kinda wanted to keep...er...under the radar…" Umbreon said, looking back and forth. "You're a grass type, right?"

"Yeah?" the seaweed responded.

"I was wondering if you had access to-er…..you know," Umbreon stammered. "Stuff?"

"What do I look like? The neighborhood dope dealer?" Dhelmise inquired. "I don't do that trash and I don't know why anyone with a functioning brain _would_."

"Psshh, Umbreon with a functioning brain?" Tepig asked. Umbreon punched him in the stomach, causing him to squeal.

"Look dude, that plane ride was stressful as shit. Do you know anyone that might know then?" Umbreon asked.

"Well, if Shiinotic was still here, he could probably hook you up," Dhelmise replied. "Though, he'd probably ask for your internal organs as payment. That bastard was on _something_ , but we don't know what."

"He sounds like a fun guy!" Tepig snickered.

"Okay, Tepig, do you have anything to add to this?" Umbreon snapped. "Ugghhh, I'd totally give a lung for some weed right now."

"I hope you realize that I'm talking about almost everything, right?" Dhelmise questioned. "Intestines, heart, brain, tongue, stomach…"

"Wait, does that work for other people? I wouldn't mind removing some of Charizard's organs," Umbreon said evilly.

"SO," Tepig said, on a desperate track to change the conversation. "What do you do for fun, Dhelmise?"

"What fun do you think exists here for me?" Dhelmise inquired. "I eat, sleep, plan, and piss these dumbasses off whenever I feel like it. They get upset so quick that it's almost too easy. I don't do video games or work out like the others, and when we go to the beach, I either sink or watch them. The only thing that could _maybe_ be called fun is pissing them off. What about you?"

"I do everything, mate. Pissing off people's fun, though," Tepig admitted. "They DO make it way too easy, don't they? If only there was someone that could provide a satisfying challenge…."

"Fuck it, I'm going to see if I can find some organs in the refrigerator. You two have fun with your bromance or whatever," Umbreon said, turning around and walking away.

Dhelmise watched her go and scoffed. "Eh, I guess I can see why Umbreon get plowed into so much. Still not much to look at though. And I hope she realizes that Shiinotic is gone, so her quest for organs will be for jack shit."

"She won a beauty contest, if I remember right," Tepig said. "Ooh, you want dirt on her? Go for that point. She HATES it when people mention it."

"Thanks for the tip, pork chop," Dhelmise replied. "With your ragtag band of misfits, this'll be very fun for me…"

Tepig pulled out a data file with information on the entire cast. "Hell yeah, it will. Let's do a bit of secret sharing, shall we? Get this crossover done right!"

"I'll be honest, none of these nimrods really have many secrets," Dhelmise said. "Plus, Pyukumuku and Lycanroc are the only ones here that are actually pretty 'unbreakable' in a sense. Pyukumuku doesn't really get that offended by much, and uh… let's just say that Lycanroc is off limits."

"Oh?" Tepig asked with a mischievous grin. "Do tell."

"Tell what? I literally just said that those two don't have much to go off of. Well, Pyukumuku does, but it's literally sad, so it's a bit pathetic to try to go for that point. Plus, it doesn't really bother him _that_ much."

"Yeah, Infernape gets his ass handed to him so often it's no fun to target him either. Everybody else is on the market. Especially Gallade. Gallade's fun," Tepig said. "What's up with Lycanroc, though? Are you two….?"

"OH ARCEUS NO!" Dhelmise bellowed, as if offended. "Love is bullshit and I will _never_ look for that mind-numbing shit. Plus, she likes Incineroar, which is very humorous."

"...He's gay, in'he?" Tepig asked.

"Gay and engaged," Dhelmise replied. "Some stupid Lucario actually found _that_ attractive and is planning on marrying it. And I gotta say, he's really plowing into him with the way he acts."

"Haha, gross," Tepig said. "Incineroar sounds like one of those types that take a joke. Like Charizard. Also are you sure that you're not into Lycanroc? Cuz I have a radar for that."

"Oh please. The only 'attraction' I'd have to her would be because of her personality, but I don't like _it_ much either," Dhelmise explained. "110% sure that I'm not into her. I respect her, I'll give her that, though."

"Okay, okay," Tepig said, raising his hands in surrender. "This is gonna be a fun challenge, though. Brand new Pokemon to mock, and now I get to watch another Ninjask mock the hell out of them too? Dammit, if only if it was recorded…."

His eyes lit up. "It IS recorded."

"Yeah, we're still on a shit show, remember?" Dhelmise replied.

"Even better. You know, Dhelmise, I feel like this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship," Tepig said, teary eyed.

"I don't have friends. _Acquaintance_ is more to my liking," Dhelmise replied with a nod.

 **000**

" **Yeah… he's gonna be eliminated soon… I can just see it," Dhelmise opined. "Talking to me about alliances or friends gets you eliminated. Ask Togedemaru and Oricorio…"**

 **000**

"So...uh...you're a lesbian, huh?" Incineroar inquired inquisitively, eyeing Lucario as she lifted weights. "Got anyone back at home?"

"I have a lot of stuff to figure out," Lucario said awkwardly. "I-I have a boyfriend, but I'm beginning to think that maybe...he might've just been a smokescreen. I got called a lot of names for being the tough girl, so looking back I might have just started dating him to throw them off."

"Oh? Tough girl who was made fun of for it…" Lycanroc started. "Hmm… I wonder why that sounds so _familiar_ …"

The wolf turned to Hakamo-o, who was remaining silent, lifting 50 pound weights. Upon hearing that, the dragon- and fighting-type sighed. "Lycanroc, please don't start…"

"C'mon! You two are almost the exact same!" Lycanroc said, rubbing her shoulders as she stopped lifting the two weights. "Share some advice! Maybe you can help her out."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea!"

"But, I'm not… y'know, gay," Hakamo-o replied.

"That doesn't matter! You both have similar backgrounds. Just talk to her!"

Hakamo-o gave her wolf friend an annoyed glower before finally groaning and dropping the weights.

"Maybe you should take her to your room. We don't want you to air your dirty laundry with the guys here," Lycanroc said, gesturing to Pyukumuku, Shuckle, and Munchlax, who were playing Halo in the game section of the floor.

"I-uh...don't think they're even paying attention…" Incineroar spoke up, glancing over to them.

"Just go. Privacy is always better…"

"Okay, fine," Hakamo-o groaned, facepalming herself. She glanced at Lucario, who had stopped lifting her weights. "Come with me…"

"I….uh okay?" Lucario said, scratching her head.

Hakamo-o led Lucario to the elevators, leaving Lycanroc and Incineroar with the three guys and the games.

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Lucario arrived on the third floor, where the Solgaleo females still slept. She walked to her door and opened it, holding the door so that Lucario could go in, first.

Lucario looked around the room, admiring the setup of the rooms. Hakamo-o walked ahead of her and sat on her bed. She pat her hand on the area next to her, though she really didn't think doing this was necessary.

Lucario took a seat next to her and Hakamo-o took a breath. "Okay… just, explain what your problem is and I'll see what I can help you do…"

"I mean it isn't a problem, per se…I'm fine. I just feel like a bit of an asshole is all," Lucario said. "Something I'll have to sort out with the guy once the season ends. Also, you don't seem much of the listening type."

Hakamo-o let out a sigh. "There it goes again," she said, rising up. "People always assume things about me just from how I look or what I 'seem' like without actually trying to get to know me. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this…"

"Well I don't judge it on appearance," Lucario said. "I can read auras and in all honesty, yours reminds me of mine."

"Oh, well...I don't know whether that's a compliment or not," Hakamo-o replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"To be honest, me neither," Lucario admitted. "I've never been too good at judging myself, much less other people. Ugh, do you want to just do something fun? I'm not a big fan of talking about feelings."

"Thank ARCEUS you said that. Feelings aren't my forte either," Hakamo-o said. "But, uh...neither is _fun_ , really. I don't know what it is, but I don't think I can have fun."

"Wanna fight? You seem tough," Lucario said. "I've been training for a tournament, and I've basically just been challenging everyone I can."

Hakamo-o gained a smile. "Now battling, _that_ I can do. And let me guess… the _Pokken_ Tournament?"

"Hell, yeah," Lucario said, cracking her knuckles. "You should try it sometime. Uh….maybe we shouldn't fight here though."

"We can go to the beach…" Hakamo-o said with a shrug. "But, uh...I don't think we'll have much time. Solgaleo said noon and it's...11:43 right now…"

"Maybe we can just go outside," Lucario suggested.

"That works, too," Hakamo-o replied.

 **000**

The guys were still playing Halo on the seventh floor, with Lycanroc and Incineroar watching the shocking intensity of the situation. Even Incineroar didn't get _this_ crazy about a game. Pyukumuku was still just being himself, but Shuckle and Munchlax were well...

"So, I guess together we can be Neo Eviolite," Shuckle said, jotting down some notes. "Also, Munchlax, will you calm down? You don't want to destroy another controller by accident again, do you? He's gone through three of them back at camp, and I think he actually ate one…"

"Dude, shut up," Munchlax said. He was surrounded by empty bags of Doritos. "Also, Pyukumuku is really good. I need to go full Munchlax on this one."

"Full Munchlax?" Lycanroc inquired. "Uh...what exactly does that entail?"

"And really? Three controllers?" Incineroar questioned. "I mean, I can get intense when playing games, but usually my man catches me and just...well...let's just say he calms me down…"

"You don't need to bring that up, dude," Lycanroc giggled.

"This is fun!" Pyukumuku chirped as he just kept pressing the same button repeatedly.

"Are you sure he's that good, Munchlax?" Shuckle asked, peering over. "Because it kind of seems like-"

"Shuckle. I will end you. In front of everybody. I will not hesitate," Munchlax growled. "So I suggest you back off."

"Okay," Shuckle whimpered, backing away.

"Does he _always_ get like this?" asked Lycanroc, giggling a bit.

"No! He's usually the sweetest guy!" Shuckle said. "But once he starts playing games, then he turns into a completely different person. If Bidoof were here, Munchlax would already be beating him up!"

"Well then…" Incineroar replied. "I guess that's enough videogames for one day."

Hearing how he acted, Incineroar decided to take the chance and got Munchlax in a sleeper hold. The teal bear was trying his best to fight him off, still shouting slurs the entire time. Eventually, the Munchlax lost consciousness, allowing Incineroar to release him. He slumped over, snoozing.

"Whoa, I didn't know you knew the sleeper hold," Lycanroc acknowledged, mystified.

Incineroar shrugged. "Not that big a deal. _He_ used to use it on me when I got too angry around jackasses, so I told him to teach it to me, too…"

"You have to teach that to me," Shuckle gaped. "This could solve like….all of my problems."

Incineroar chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know. It doesn't really seem like you need it. You just need to keep this lug from videogames."

"Yeah, but say there's this really obnoxious, cigarette loving hoodlum that I can't stand," Shuckle said. "And if this hypothetical person exists, I feel like I should have a way to er...subdue him."

"So… You realize that whenever people say hypothetically, they're talking about themselves nearly 100% of the time," Lycanroc giggled. "Just say that you dislike the guy and get a response."

"Shuckle….really hates Scrafty," Munchlax mumbled in his sleep.

"As I should!" Shuckle protested. "He's totally the main antagonist of our show. Stay away from him, you guys!"

"I have no idea if we even have an antagonist here," Lycanroc opined sincerely. "I mean, Dhelmise is a snarker who gets on people's nerves, but I don't see him as such, and everyone else is… themselves."

Incineroar rolled his eyes. "Dhelmise is the jackass of our show. And head's up, you can't get away from him, really. He talks a lot of shit, as you probably have already guessed, so yeah. You guys may have it a bit easier. As for teaching you the sleeper hold for the 'hypothetical' hoodlum, I guess I could help."

"Or anyone, really," Shuckle admitted. "We have a lot of aggressive guys in our cast. I could see basically anyone snapping at this point."

"Congratulations," Incineroar remarked, hiding a smile. "I like guys that are a bit aggressive…"

"O-ho-kay, calm down there big boy," Lycanroc said with a giggle. "Just teach the little guy the technique so we can get on with what needs to be done…"

"Which is?"

"Checking on Hakamo-o and Lucario!" Lycanroc reminded. "Now get to teachin'!"

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Lucario were outside of the hotel standing a good distance away from each other. Dhelmise, Tepig, Charizard, Zorua, and Gallade were all standing at the door, preparing to watch their battle take place.

"This is going to be fun to watch," Dhelmise commented. "Overrated Pokemon vs. Borderline-Emotionless Loser."

"Go fuck yourself, Dhelmise!" Hakamo-o snapped.

"Don't worry about it, Haka!" Tepig chuckled. "Lucario loses all the time. She's lost to Munchlax like twice now."

"Go fuck yourself, Tepig!" Lucario snapped.

"Same response," Dhelmise acknowledged. "They're a match made in the Distortion World…"

Both girls growled, faint blushes forming on their faces as they glowered toward the anchor.

"Will one of you who's _not_ Thing 1 or Thing 2 referee the battle or something?" Hakamo-o questioned. "I'm not trying to hear those two berate us the entire fucking time."

"I'll do it," Charizard grumbled, still clutching his pineapple. "I want a clean fight, ladies."

"Okay, I guess that works…" Hakamo-o groused to herself. "So, I guess we can start. You can make the first move if you want."

"Sure thing," Lucario said, launching a swift aura sphere.

Hakamo-o swiftly dodged it before rushing forward, her arms glowing. She leapt up, attempting to use Brick Break.

Lucario played far more defensively, spinning around a bone staff to block Hakamo-o's vicious swipes.

"Make out!" Tepig shouted.

Ignoring the snarky porker's comments, Hakamo-o stopped her buffet of swipes and slid back. With a smile, she rushed forward again, her claws now a purplish color.

Lucario quickly got low to the ground, aiming a kick for her legs while ducking under her attack.

Hakamo-o, seeing how she was countering, gained a smile. She'd seen this trick far too many times. Leaping up, she focused directly below her, the Dragon Claw actually hitting its mark.

Lucario winced, but her type allowed her to survive without taking too much damage. She thrust an open palm into Hakamo-o's chest, an unseen force blasting the dragon back a second later.

Doing a backflip, Hakamo-o winced from the attack, but smirked. "Nice move. But let's see how well you handle _this_."

She rose a leg and slammed it down hard, an Earthquake beginning to shake and jostle everyone in the vicinity, with the exception of Charizard.

 **-000-**

"Hey!" Charizard barked. "Can you NOT accidentally murder an innocent bystander?"

Tepig was lying on the ground, groaning. "Something just landed on me…."

"Never mind, actually," Charizard corrected. "Nobody important was hurt."

" _You_ weren't even hurt, ya big lug. Why are you whining?" Dhelmise inquired, glowering at the flying lizard.

"I was hurt! I demand medical treatment!" Tepig snapped. "It has to be Lycanroc though!"

Nobody paid any attention to the fallen pig, they instead focused on the battle.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o, seeing Lucario a bit stunned from the Earthquake, decided to rush forward once again. Her arms glowed white, evident of a Brick Break that was heading the jackal's way.

"Ahh shit," Lucario groaned, throwing an aura sphere before getting into another defensive position.

Seeing the sphere heading her way, Hakamo-o smacked it back toward her using her arms before stopping. She got into an offensive pose.

 **-000-**

"So, does anyone want to place bets?" Zorua asked.

"I just want someone to be knocked out. Bets aren't my thing," Dhelmise remarked.

Slowking stumbled over, still shaky from his nap. "Does anyone know how smart Hakamo-o is when she fights?"

"Nope," Dhelmise replied instantly. "Never really saw it before. All we know is that she has never had fun a day in her life and she's only ever trained since she was a kid or something. So, even if she _is_ dumb when battling, it'll be entertaining as all hell."

"Interesting," Slowking said. "Lucario seems to be holding back. Perhaps she's waiting for Hakamo-o to make a mistake."

"If that's the case, we're gonna be here for a while, because that bitch there hates people making mistakes," Dhelmise explained. "I don't know if she'll even stumble or tire out if that stupid backstory of hers is accurate."

Slowking nodded a little, watching the fight with newfound interest.

"S-so nobody wants to bet then?" Zorua asked. "Aww man…."

 **-000-**

Lucario brushed off the counter attack, glaring at Hakamo-o, who was still in a fighting stance. Focusing her aura, she created a barrier around herself.

"Your move, hon," Lucario said, cracking her knuckles.

Hakamo-o giggled at that. "If you say so."

The Scaly Pokemon leapt upwards in her same spot before crashing back down, starting another Earthquake before she leapt back, standing on the edge of the fountain. Seeing that Lucario wasn't affected due to the aura around her, she folded her arms with a smile. "Really? Aura Barrier? Come on now, aren't we a little more _confident_ than that?"

Lucario merely shrugged and sent a wave of aura spheres, each of them homing in on Hakamo-o.

The dragon-type, who was still standing on the fountain's edge, leapt upwards at just the right moment so that the spheres _obliterated_ the fountain, causing water and pieces of the fountain to leak out and spread around.

"Nice try, _hun_ ," Hakamo-o replied, passing Lucario a playful sneer. The dragon-type swiftly moved in a serpentine pattern, moving back and forth, switching the distance between her and the Aura Pokemon consistently. This movement looked extremely stupid to the bystanders, who saw that Lucario was just standing still.

Lucario glanced at her movements, slowly memorizing her pattern, before a sly smile appeared on her face. "Got you."

With a grunt, she sent a fully charged aura sphere towards the direction that she calculated Hakamo-o to be.

When the aura sphere went in Hakamo-o's direction and struck, she seemingly vanished into thin air. "Ooh….you were so close," Lucario heard from behind her. Hakamo-o used Brick Break, swiping Lucario in the back.

"Wait, what?!" Dhelmise exclaimed, completely bewildered. "How did she-"

"How did you-?" Lucario grunted, stumbling off balance.

"Just something one of my elders taught me," Hakamo-o explained, dusting her hands off. "It's a tactic to throw your opponent off your actual position. Your move."

Lucario slapped herself in the head to stay focused. "Alright, screw defense." She vanished and reappeared, kicking Hakamo-o in the face.

Hakamo-o stumbled back, chuckling. " _Now_ it's a battle," she remarked, sneering. She started doing the same technique she'd done a few moments ago, moving in numerous patterns in front of the Lucario.

"What _is_ that move she keeps doing?" Lucario muttered. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind.

Hakamo-o didn't let up, continuing to move in her patterns, her eyes locked on Lucario's.

Lucario let out a roar of defiance and let loose a Flash Cannon, this time aiming for the opposite place she expected Hakamo-o to be.

Hakamo-o smiled, using Dragon Claw on her back this time. "You have to pay attention, Luca. Not everything is what it is seems…"

 **-000-**

"Wow, I've never seen this side of her," Dhelmise acknowledged. "She actually looks like she's enjoying herself. It's stupid. I guess her emotionless side would be more tolerable."

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o flipped back to the opposite side of Lucario. Although it seemed like she was playing around, she was actually completely serious about this battle, and she could sense that Lucario was feeling the same way. She just loved the reactions she got from her opponents and bystanders when she used her special tactics. Training all of your life really paid off. "You want to try again?" she questioned.

Lucario took a deep breath. "You're certainly a tough opponent. But you can't get into Pokken Tournament without knowing to think outside the box!"

She charged an aura sphere and shot it at the ground, giving her the boost she needed to slam into Hakamo-o and send them both bowling over. The two girls were now forced to fight each other on the ground.

"Nice move," Hakamo-o complimented. "But you should remember that thinking outside the box doesn't _always_ go in your favor."

She rose a fist and embedded it into ground, causing yet another Earthquake that actually launched them both up. Hakamo-o landed on her feet and began riding the Earthquake out, arms folded. Lucario landed on her feet, too, but she was panting and had her fists clenched. Seeing this, Hakamo-o smirked as the Earthquake stopped. She motioned for Lucario to come at her once again.

Lucario grinned. "You may want to end this quickly. The more damage I take the more powerful I become."

Hakamo grinned back. "And why _wouldn't_ I want that? I love a challenge, well, a more intense one anyway…"

The dragon- and fighting-type rushed toward the jackal, her arms glowing. Lucario charged up an aura sphere but held onto it. Hakamo-o saw what she was doing and grinned, gaining an idea. She crouched down, but continued rushing toward the Aura Pokemon, still preparing to use Brick Break.

Lucario's free arm came up to block the attack, before throwing several kicks at the dragon type's stomach. When Hakamo-o faltered, Lucario's aura sphere was launched at point blank range.

Hakamo-o took the aura sphere to the back, but she continued with her plan. She used Brick Break on Lucario's legs, knocking the jackal onto her butt. Hakamo-o then did a roundhouse kick, striking her face before using Brick Break thrice more. Once she was done with that attack, she moved a couple of feet back to allow her opponent to rise.

 **-000-**

"Well this is getting brutal," Zorua admitted. "Also, jeez they both look like they're in their own little world."

Lycanroc, Incineroar, Pyukumuku, and Shuckle, who dragged a still asleep Munchlax him, came through the door.

"There you guys are," Lycanroc greeted. "What's going on?"

"Oh, those two are battling for our amusement," Dhelmise replied.

"Sweet," Incineroar remarked. "Always wanted to see how she fought."

"I thought they were supposed to talk, not fight!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"Fighting is obviously how they talk," Shuckle said with a chuckle. "Gives physical therapy a new meaning."

"Who's winning?" Incineroar asked.

"Lucario keeps getting shut out," Slowking explained, rubbing his chin. "Clearly Hakamo-o's spent a lot of time on her craft."

"When DOES the fight end anyway?" Infernape asked.

"Whenever Solgaleo and Lunala come back," Pyukumuku responded. "It's actually a bit past noon now isn't it?"

"Maybe they're watching the battle, too," Dhelmise assumed. "Also, Lycanroc, Tepig says he needs medical assistance or something."

Tepig gave her a roguish wink.

Lycanroc rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't you have a girlfriend already?"

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o was waiting for Lucario's next move, as they were both panting and eyeing each other from across the way.

Lucario shot an aura sphere in a vicious curve ball, spinning to catch Hakamo-o off guard. Hakamo-o didn't fall for it, though, and used Brick Break to hit the Aura Sphere back toward her, as she did previously.

"You're going to have to rely on more than just Aura Spheres, Luca!" Hakamo-o advised. The Scaly Pokemon charged toward her once again, attempting to use Brick Break once again.

"I can say the same thing about your Brick Breaks!" Lucario countered as Hakamo-o grew nearer. She once more used Extreme Speed to vanish and reappear, pulling Hakamo-o into a full nelson.

Raising a brow, Hakamo-o heeled Lucario's right ankle. Following that, she leapt up , forcing her weight onto the jackal and causing her to fall back. Hakamo-o winced due to Lucario's chest spike, but was able to get up and glower down at her.

Lucario followed up with a headbutt, causing both of them to stumble back. Lucario fell to one knee, panting.

"Okay then…" Hakamo-o replied, rubbing her head.

She was panting, but she was eager to continue with this battle; she whacked her with her tail before kicking her in the chin. "Come on… show me some more of that anger and strength."

Lucario let out a low growl before throwing her off, shooting a well aimed flash cannon to blast her away in midair. "I could go all day!"

Hakamo-o landed before getting on one knee as well. "So could I…" she said with a tempting growl.

"Do you guys wanna take a break?" Infernape asked. "It's been a really long time now!"

Lucario groaned. "Never. I am unstoppable..." she took a few shaky steps.

Hakamo-o had a rather crazed look on her face, happy that Lucario wanted to keep going. "Come at me!" she roared.

"Whoa, Haka, are you okay?!" Lycanroc exclaimed, hearing and seeing her friend's usual demeanor shift so quickly.

She turned to the wolf. "I'm just fine…" she said, panting with a sneer on her face before she turned back to Lucario, who was still taking steps toward her. "Come on… bring it..."

"If they keep this up, we might as well have no challenge!" Incineroar chuckled. "This'll bring in their stupid views just fine…"

Lycanroc whined. "I don't know how I feel about this…"

 **-000-**

Once the jackal was in reach, Hakamo-o used Dragon Claw, slashing her face. She took a few steps back, panting.

Lucario groaned and threw a punch of her own, much slower than the last few had been. "Urgh, how long have we been doing this?"

"I have no idea," Hakamo-o said, chuckling as an aura suddenly surrounded herself, which launched Lucario back once the slow punch landed. "But, I'm loving it…"

Lucario pulled herself back up. "Okay. Change in tactics." She jumped in the air, throwing an aura sphere at the ground, letting loose all of her remaining energy.

"Hey guys, what's-AHHHHH!" Victini teleported right in front of the blast, the impact sending him flying head over heels.

"Wh-whoops," Lucario gasped.

"Wrong place to teleport…" Hakamo-o commented, folding her arms.

"Sorry we're late," Solgaleo apologized as he and Lunala teleported back to the island as well. "We- uh… had a bit of a hold up back at the hall…"

"What kind of hold up?" Dhelmise questioned. "No hold up should have stopped your professionalism. These two have been battling for the past fifteen minutes or so, time _you_ could have spent-"

"SHUT IT!" Lunala bellowed, glaring at the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

Hariyama hopped down between the two. "Excellent match, though both ladies could use some more stamina."

Victini moaned. "Can I sue someone for this?"

"We're the hosts, Victini," Solgaleo replied. "We don't sue. We _get_ sued. Now, I think we've wasted enough time, so let's get this challenge on the way."

There was a collective groan among the conjoined cast, as they all wanted for the battle to actually have a winner. Hakamo-o eyed Lucario, who ogled her back.

 **000**

" **I have to admit… that was the best battle I've ever had," Hakamo-o panted. "Most opponents I have usually get knocked out after the first few hits. Lucario, though, she's a kickass opponent. She's just amazing."**

" **And I noticed her looking at me a bit 'weirdly', but you know what? I'm perfectly fine with it."**

 **000**

Solgaleo and Lunala led all of the contestants to Diglett's Tunnel. Once they were there, Solgaleo overlooked the contestants. "Alright, is this everybody?"

"Uh, no… Umbreon is still somewhere in the hotel trying to scavenge for organs," Tepig explained.

"Also, have you guys seen Scrafty?" Munchlax asked. "I don't think I've seen him all day."

"Oh, so there's another one of you? Splendid…" Dhelmise said sarcastically.

"Was he even on the plane?" Charizard inquired, honestly not even caring about the hoodlum.

"Will you guys calm down?" Scrafty said, walking over. "I was just having a smoke. Why the hell do you all care?"

"A fair amount of us don't," Dhelmise said, referring to himself and the rest of the Alola cast. "So, don't you flatter yourself."

"Anyways!" Lunala shouted, getting everyone's attention again. "Today's challenge will consist of two parts. Part one will be handled by myself and Solgaleo, while part two will be handled by Victini."

"Precisely," Solgaleo added. "Your first challenge will take place here in Diglett's Tunnel, so follow us inside…"

The large lion and bat entered the tunnel, with the the contestants, Hariyama, and Victini following suit.

 **000**

Upon entrance into the tunnel, a starting line was seen almost immediately. What followed the line, though, sent chills down everyone's spine and caused mouths to gape.

There was an obstacle course, a _very very_ long obstacle course. It started with a silver ramp that led to a rope swing over a pit of lava. Shortly following it was a conveyor belt that was going backwards towards the lava. The conveyor belt extended a rather long way, with pools of different fluids separating them into sections that'd have to be leapt across. The fluids were Carvanha infested water, spoiled milk, and fecal matter, combined with vomit. Following the final conveyor belt was a ladder that had a log set at the top that they'd have to hold onto and roll down. Then, there were three electrified hurdles that they'd have to jump over before they made it to the exit.

Seeing all of this, Victini's cast was shocked, petrified, and impressed all at the same time. Meanwhile the cast of Alola just sighed.

"Can I just kill myself instead?" Dhelmise questioned.

"I'm sure we'd all love that, but considering that you're already dead, you cannot," Solgaleo replied.

"So what is the reward of this challenge?" Slowking asked. "Is there a winner for both casts, or merely one?"

"The way that this is going to be filmed and broadcast is going to be different than what we did with Shaymin," Lunala explained. "There will be a winner from both casts, which means that our cast will participate all together for our show, and you guys will compete together for your show."

"And we won't be telling you all the reward until we get to Victini's challenge," Solgaleo explained. "Now, the goal of this challenge is to make it through this course with the fastest time. Fastest time wins, obviously, and that's pretty much all there is to it. Any questions?"

Victini's cast all glanced at each other. Charizard cleared his throat. "Can't we do something….less dangerous? And gross, for that matter."

"Oh can it, copper," Tepig said. "Sounds fun to me."

"Plus, these challenges are always dumb, so that 'something else' could be better or worse. We never know," Incineroar explained. "Digging up cemeteries, being put in traps like in SAW movies, searching for stuff and taking a long time to do it…"

"Drinking semen-" Dhelmise added.

"FUCK. OFF ALREADY!" Incineroar exclaimed.

"Wait is he serious?" Tepig snorted. "Was that actually a thing?"

"Yep," Dhelmise replied. "'Would you rather' challenge…"

"Hilarious," Tepig said.

"Can we just get this challenge over with already?" Incineroar questioned. "I don't want to hear anything else about that shit…"

"Certainly," Lunala said. "So, Victini, would you like your cast to go first since you have more players?"

"Uh sure…" Victini said. "Or we could just do it alphabetically."

"Alphabetically per cast, right?" Solgaleo questioned. "I mean having all of the contestants do it all for one show will kinda ruin the point of watching the other show. That's what Lunala was saying. You guys get footage of your contestants doing our course to show on your show, and we won't show it on ours so people _have_ to watch your show. And we'll have footage of o

ur contestants doing it for our show."

"Ah, fair enough," Victini said. "I guess we'll go first then."

 **000**

" **To see Victini's cast's hilarious failures and victories, please check out Total Pokkemon Island. I'm sure you won't be disappointed," Lunala said.**

 **000**

"So that's our cast," Victini said, poking Solgaleo. "Your time to shine!"

"Well, this is going to be humorous," Solgaleo commented. "You guess can head on out through the other exit. There's a television so that you guys can see our contestants go through it."

"Okay, excellent," Victini replied. "My cast, let's head out and let these guys go…"

"Hopefully they don't show us up," Munchlax commented as he and the others exited out through the other tunnel opening.

Once Victini, Hariyama, and the rest of his cast vacated the tunnel, the Sunne and Moone Pokemon began their section.

"Alright, then," Solgaleo started. "Victini's cast is all done, so now you guys get to have fun…"

"Oh boy, used equipment," Dhelmise drawled. "How lucky are _we_?"

"Very," Lunala replied. "So, like Victini's cast, we're doing alphabetical order, so…"

"Oh go fuck yourselves," Dhelmise expressed annoyedly upon hearing that rule.

"Yep, you're up first, Dhelmise," Solgaleo said proudly as the seaweed anchor combo floated forward. "You have fun, now."

 **-000-**

Dhelmise eyed the course before growling.

"And you're not allowed to float!"

"Alright, fuck this, then," Dhelmise remarked, hovering back over to the group.

 **-000-**

Most of his motions relied on floating, so being unable to do so meant that he'd be stuck in one spot. No point in continuing.

"Aw… the shit talking douchebag is forfeiting?" Hakamo-o teased. "How sad…"

"Hey, why don't you go make out with Lucario? I'm sure you'd both love that," the Sea Creeper jeered, causing Hakamo-o to growl with a slight blush on her face.

"Alright, Hakamo-o, you're up next," Lunala spoke.

"And what do you know? You'll be able to see her once you're out the other tunnel opening," Dhelmise continued.

"You can take your bullshit and shove it right back up your-"

"I have no visible ass, so your retort is already a failure."

Hakamo-o snarled in aggravation. "Okay, I'm going. Just to get away from this shithead…"

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o approached the starting line, her arms folded in confidence. After seeing the techniques and processes of the other cast, Hakamo-o felt relieved that they had mostly did decent and only a couple did exceedingly well. She was aiming to beat the best time.

"Alright Hakamo-o, your time starts in three… two … one… GO!"

Hakamo-o dashed forward immediately, rushing up the silver ramp. She leapt forward, taking hold of the rope and using her momentum to propel herself to the middle of the conveyor belt. She continued running fiercely across the conveyor belt before leaping across the first pool of Carvanha. She continued her fierce running, eventually making it to the edge and leaping over the pool of spoiled milk. She almost tripped up, but she continued forward, leaping over the final pool of fecal matter and vomit.

 **-000-**

"Whoo! Go Haka!" Lycanroc cheered from the sidelines.

"This is still a competition, Lycanroc," Dhelmise drawled.

"So what?" the she-wolf inquired. "We can still cheer for our friends…"

Dhelmise mentally rolled his eyes.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o had just finished the rolling log and sprint jumped over each hurdle, taking the shocks that were delivered when she fumbled, and crossed the finish.

"One minute and thirty-three seconds!" Solgaleo announced. "Wow, didn't think anyone could beat the lava burrow technique."

"Did you not see that constipated run she was doing on the conveyor belts?" Dhelmise inquired.

"FUCK YOU!" Hakamo-o shouted from across the tunnel.

"GET OUT!"

"Actually, Dhelmise, you should get over there, too," said Lunala. "You already forfeited, and like we told Victini, there's another television outside for his cast. Just watch from out there, though we prefer you all to wait by the doorway until everyone's done."

Dhelmise groaned. "Fine. I'll go with the bitchy dragon."

As Dhelmise started floating toward the tunnel exit, the hosts continued with the challenge.

"Alright, Incineroar, you're up next, big boy," Lunala stated.

Lycanroc pat his back supportively as the large tiger sauntered forward to the starting line.

 **-000-**

"Alright Incineroar. Start in three… two… one… GO!"

The Heel Pokemon sprinted forward and up the ramp. He hesitated initially, backing up by a miniscule amount, before running forward and gripping the rope, propelling himself onto the conveyor belt with a _THUD!_ He had landed on his stomach, but he quickly got back on his feet just as the conveyor belt was about to dump him into the lava. He sprinted across the conveyor belt, leaping across pool of Carvanha.

However, as he leapt, one of the Carvanha had leapt upwards, taking hold of Incineroar's tail. With a roar of pain, he looked back and brought his tail forward while still running and yanked the Carvanha off of his tail, wincing in the aftermath.

Unluckily for him, he hadn't been paying attention and ended up running right into the pool of spoiled milk. He surfaced, plugging his nose and gagging, as some of it had gotten into his mouth. He quickly tried to get out of the pool, taking a hold of the next conveyor belt in order to ride it back onto the surface. At this point, he knew that he wasn't going to win the reward, but he was still going to finish.

Once he was back onto the surface of the conveyor belt, he got onto his feet and started running again, gagging the entire time. He continued running across, though, making sure to leap over the pool of fecal matter and vomit. If he'd landed in there, he'd be scalding himself with boiling, soapy water for an entire day.

He made it to the next section of the course, rushing toward the ladder and starting his ascent. Once at the top, he took a hold of the log, but due to the milk still soaking his fur, he slipped off as soon as the log started rolling down. He landed hard on the rocky ground, groaning.

He slowly got to his feet and started running toward the electric hurdles. At this point, he was spent from all of the running, so he just ran through the three hurdles, not caring about the shocks he got. He finished before collapsing on the ground, holding his head.

Dhelmise couldn't help but to laugh at his misfortune. "Nice work, Tiger Jaw."

Incineroar growled.

"Three minutes, thirty-two seconds!" Solgaleo announced. "Not bad Incineroar. Not bad at all!"

"But also not that good," Lunala muttered. "Anyways, Lycanroc, you're up!"

Lycanroc nodded as she moseyed toward the start.

 **-000-**

"Alright Lycanroc, show us what you've got. In three… two… one… GO!"

Lycanroc ran forward and headed up the ramp. With a fine leap, she grabbed hold of the rope and started swinging hard on the rope. Taking inspiration from what Shuckle did, she continued swinging on the rope until she had a fair amount of momentum.

Eventually, she released and launched herself forward. She almost overshot it, but she curled herself up and landed on all fours onto the second conveyor belt. Her front right arm landing off of the belt. She quickly got back on her feet and started running forward until she was at the edge. She did a big leap, landing on the next one rather unstably.

She regained her composure, eventually jumping over the fecal matter and vomit pool. She rushed to the ladder and started climbing up. She took hold of the log and rolled all the way down.

Once she was off, she rushed over and started leaping over the hurdles, eventually finishing. Seeing the others, she smiled, giving Hakamo-o and Incineroar high-claws.

"Two minutes, two seconds!" Solgaleo announced. "Nice work!"

"Well, let's see, we have with zero as a time since I didn't do shit, 'Mighty Bitch' with one minute, Lycanroc with two minutes, and 'Literal Furfag' with three minutes," Dhelmise took note. "How semi-humorous."

Incineroar was once again being held back by Lycanroc, who wanted to lash out at Dhelmise.

 **-000-**

"Alright Pyukumuku, you're up next," Lunala said.

"Hooray!" Pyukumuku said, hopping toward the starting line.

"Alright… in three… two… one… GO!"

Pyukumuku slowly made his way to the ramp, hopping the entire way. Seeing how far Lycanroc made it, the Sea Cucumber wanted to try and do the same thing. Once he made it, he gave a mighty leap, grabbing onto the rope with his innards. He started swinging back and forth on the rope. Due to his small size, he was able to swing much easier and gain more height and momentum.

Once he let go, he was flung _far_. He ended up hitting the far wall of the tunnel, completely missing the entire course. Lycanroc quickly jumped up to catch the little guy before he hit the ground.

"You okay, dude?!" Lycanroc questioned.

"Again!" Pyukumuku chirped, apparently having not felt anything.

"FORTY THREE SECONDS!"

"WHAT!?" Dhelmise exclaimed. "HE MISSED THE ENTIRE COURSE!"

"AND YOU DIDN'T PARTICIPATE!"

Dhelmise groaned. "Fine…"

 **-000-**

Lunala and Solgaleo turned to Tsareena, who was the last one for their cast. They exchanged glances.

"OKAY! LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT CHALLENGE!" Lunala shouted as they teleported Tsareena to the end with the others.

 **000**

" **What? You expect us to really let** _ **her**_ **go? You must be out of your mind…" Lunala commented.**

 **000**

The Alola cast made their way out of the tunnel, meeting back up with Victini's cast, who had been watching the footage intently.

"Did you guys like what you saw?" Solgaleo inquired.

"I'm so proud of you!" Shuckle shouted at Pyukumuku, tackling him in a hug.

"Yay, hugs!" he chirped in response. "But, what did I do?"

"You won the challenge, dude," Munchlax said, joining the group hug.

"So, what do we win?" Tepig asked Solgaleo greedily.

"It depends on Victini's challenge. He kept it a surprise for us, too," Solgaleo explained, eyeing the Victory Pokemon.

Victini rubs his hands. "I thought of a way for us all to compete together. Hold on, let me get changed."

He teleported away.

"If he comes back here in a leotard or something else stupid, I'm going to hit him with my anchor," Dhelmise stated.

"And if you go through with that, consider yourself automatically disqualified from the challenge," Lunala replied.

"Uhhhh I could see that happening," Munchlax admitted. "Victini can be a bit….er…."

"Mentally detached?" Shuckle suggested.

Victini teleported back, now dressed as a cowboy. "Howdy folks! It's time for Victini's Ditto Roundup Jamboree!"

"Eccentric is a better word, I think," Hakamo-o stated, seeing the tight-fitting costume on the fox legendary.

"Since I can't find Umbreon, we'll just be using the ten of you!" Victini said, pointing to his cast.

"She's probably on the beach," Dhelmise commented. "There aren't any organs there, but she could probably dig up bones from where Palossand show up."

"Yeah, but sneaking up on her is something I'm not willing to do," Victini admitted, shuddering to himself. "She once tried to drown me when I offered her something to drink."

"It was pretty funny," Scrafty said with a shrug.

"I sense that he'd like to plow that ass," Dhelmise stated. "And if you're seriously scared of Umbreon… why choose her to begin with?"

"My great personality," Umbreon drawled, walking in. "Victini, stop being a pussy."

"Oh, you're here," Victini said. "Never mind, then."

Umbreon sighed. "Reluctantly."

"Okay! So uh….to make it fair for everybody, we'll split into teams of three. Two from my cast, and one per you Alola guys. There has to be one team of two though, because we don't fit completely evenly."

"All you have to do is give one of your players invincibility," Lunala commented. "Just choose someone that you _know_ you want in the final ten."

"And how will that be fair for them, exactly?" Solgaleo questioned.

"Hey, it's his show. It's just a suggestion," Lunala replied with a shrug.

"Don't worry about that!" Victini said. "The team of two will get a surprise, super secret contestant to help them out for this challenge only."

"Could you just hurry up and _explain_ the challenge?" Dhelmise urged.

"Chill, chill!" Victini protested. "I'm getting to it! You guys are going to gather up and capture as many Diglett as you can with some tools available. The team that captures the most Diglett wins. And uh...oh sabotage is totally allowed. Feel free to beat the crap out of each other and steal stuff. For entertainment purposes!"

"So… we're collecting _Diglett_. The little bastards that stay embedded in the ground. The things that you can't really hold in your hands," Incineroar started.

"And don't forget… he said that this was a _Ditto_ Roundup Jamboree," Dhelmise added. "Looks like someone needs to fire their script writers…"

"You know, I think what people don't understand is how tiring writing can be," Victini said, his eye twitching. "Little mistakes are an inevitability, and pointing out every single one can be pretty cruel and unfair. Especially when the writer isn't EVEN BEING PAYED!"

"So you're not paying your interns who write your bullcrap. Good to know," Dhelmise replied. "Now, what about these teams you were talking about?"

"Uh….you guys decide the teams," Victini said with a shrug. "Pick whoever you want."

"Alright, this should be interesting…" Solgaleo spoke up. "And you said it's two of yours and one of ours per team? Hmm…"

"One of you sorry saps are gonna be stuck with Tsareena," Dhelmise laughed.

"Okay, just choose your teams…" Lunala stated, tired of hearing Dhelmise's non visible mouth.

 **000**

"We call Pyukumuku!" Shuckle shouted, tackling and shielding the Sea Cucumber Pokemon from view with Munchlax.

Slowking looked over the remaining competitors. "Hmm….."

Infernape grabbed his arm, before pointing to Tsareena. "We'll take her!"

"Sure. Your funeral…" Lunala shrugged.

"Wait, hold on-" Slowking protested.

"No take backs, mate," Tepig said. "Wouldn't be fair."

"Don't you dare speak about fairness," Slowking said, rolling his eyes.

"He still butthurt about not getting his way?" Dhelmise questioned. "Sad."

Gallade tapped Incineroar on the shoulder. "Not very good at this, but want to be a thing?"

"Gayyyyy," Tepig jeered.

"One, I'm already, taken, porkchop," Incineroar started, glaring at the pig. He turned back to Gallade. "And two… sure," he finished with a shrug.

Gallade gave a half smile. "You seem like a good ally to have. We'll work well together."

Incineroar nodded.

 **000**

" **I didn't know what to make of the guy at first, but he kinda reminded me of my man when we first met as kids…" Incineroar stated. "So, why not?"**

 **000**

Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Dhelmise were the only ones not in a group just yet.

"Want to beat the shit out of everybody else this time, Hakamo-o?" Lucario asked with a grin.

Hakamo-o grinned back. "Oh-ho definitely."

"Make sure you have a dildo with you two. Don't wanna chafe yourselves on the ground in there," Dhelmise joked tonelessly.

Hakamo-o tried to use Shadow Claw on the ghost, who disappeared before the attack could even make contact. "Jackass…"

Zorua bopped Tepig on the head. "So, who should we pick? Dhelmise or Ly-"

"Lycanroc!" Tepig shouted. "Lycanroc get over here."

"Dude," Zorua said. "You are in. a. Romantic. Relationship."

"Oh come on, just let me have a bit of eye candy," Tepig pleaded. "You know we wouldn't have this problem if you agreed to my terms."

"Why the hell would I transform into really hot girls for you to ogle at?" Zorua snapped. "What makes you think that's even a fair question to ask?"

"I'm an optimist?" Tepig said innocently.

"You're an idiot," Zorua said. "Lycanroc, stay away from him. He's harmless but his lack of brain cells may rub off on you."

"Looks like I'll get over there," Dhelmise said, floating over to them. "Nice to see you choosing attraction over sense…"

"Noooooooooo," Tepig whined.

Umbreon shrugged. "I'll go with Lycanroc then or whatever."

Lycanroc shrugged as well, walking over.

Scrafty and Charizard glanced at each other. Scrafty cleared his throat. "I'll join Gallade and Incineroar then."

Charizard nodded. "Then I guess I'll join the two girls."

"That leaves Umbreon and Lycanroc with our super secret mystery person!" Victini said.

"Um… cool, I suppose," Lycanroc said tentatively.

Umbreon blinked. "I bet it's someone dumb."

"Hey, they couldn't be that bad," Lycanroc assured.

"So uh….should we discuss rewards now?" Victini asked, looking at the two other judges.

"Yeah, that's fine," Solgaleo answered, with Lunala nodding in agreement. "The winners of the last challenge get these state-of-the-art tracking devices."

Two pieces of machinery that resembled metal detectors were teleported to the front of the group. Pyukumuku and Tepig went forward and each got their reward.

"These devices will help you track Diglett all around the tunnel, as well as outside here," Solgaleo replied.

"Wait, there are Diglett _outside_ of the tunnel, as well?" Hakamo-o asked in surprise.

"Gotta make it somewhat harder," Victini said, chuckling.

"And for all fun purposes, the winner of the challenge will get to choose who from the opposing cast gets the boot," Lunala added.

"WHAT?!" everyone blustered immediately.

Victini and Solgaleo gave the Moone Pokemon a look as if she was crazy, but decided to just go along with it.

"Nice twist! Better hope you made a good impression!" Victini said.

"...Uh-oh," Tepig said.

"Let's get this challenge sta-"

"Where's our extra player?" Umbreon interrupted.

"Oh, right," Victini said, slapping himself in the face. "Hariyama, bring in the mystery box!"

Hariyama dragged in a huge box with a question mark plastered on it.

Victini teleported on top of the box and undid the wrappings. "Let's see who it is!"

The box fell apart, revealing an insectoid with a giant mushroom on its back. "It is I! THE GREAT PARASECT!"

"Oh god please no," Umbreon said.

"I'd take friggin' Carbink over him!" Zorua moaned.

"Haha! It only makes sense to be jealous of my perfection!" Parasect boasted, clicking his pinchers.

"Uh… so who is this?" Lycanroc questioned.

"He was our old team leader," Umbreon said. "He got eliminated a LONG time ago!"

"Rather unfairly!" Parasect shouted. "But now I will prove my worth as a true leader!"

"You were a hardass from what I've heard," Lucario said.

"Work under my heel and we will win the challenge for sure!" Parasect boasted, ignoring the insults hurled at him.

Lycanroc blinked before sighing softly. _"Just make the best of it. It's what you're good at…"_ she thought to herself.

"Alright, now that all of the teams are settled and you know your tasks… you all have two hours to capture as many Diglett as possible… the challenge begins….NOW!" Lunala announced.

" _HOW_ are we supposed to capture them?!" Hakamo-o asked.

"Oh right, uh… Hariyama, bring in the pokeballs…" Victini requested.

The Arm Thrust Pokemon wheeled in another box. Instead of falling apart this time, Hariyama instead yanked off the top. Numerous normal pokeballs were scene inside, among a few drawstring bags.

The bags were thrown at each team, each filled with a specific amount of pokeballs, causing pain upon impact for a few.

"Alright, those bags are filled with pokeballs for each team, so _now_ the challenge starts… NOW!"

Almost all of the competitors rushed back into Diglett's Tunnel, with Dhelmise, Tepig, and Zorua being the only ones not back inside.

 **000**

Re-entering the tunnel, a fair amount of the players were both surprised, but also not that surprised to see that the course was no longer there. As the teams rushed away from each other in the large setting, Hakamo-o, Lucario, and Charizard started their search from the entrance they just reemerged from.

"So, how do you think we should do this?" asked Hakamo-o.

"I guess we can split up. We're fairly fast Pokemon, so we can cover more ground if we search different directions," Charizard said. "I'll get a bird's eye view and see if I can't spot any."

"I'll try to sense their aura," Lucario said. "How familiar are you with this place, Haka?"

Hakamo-o giggled at the nickname usually only used by Lycanroc, but kept her serious composure. "Well, considering that this is probably the first time I've been in here, I can confidently say that I know nothing."

"That makes us even then. Sure wish we had some of those trackers, though," Lucario said.

"No use crying over spilled milk," Charizard said. "We'd better get on with it. Good luck you two."

As the large dragon left the two of them to get an aerial view, Hakamo-o started walking forward, with Lucario following. The Scaly Pokemon was mainly looking at the ground, looking for holes in the ground where she suspected Diglett would normally pop up. With the other teams all around the area, she didn't really know whether or not she should go as far. "You sense anything Luca?"

"Hmmm….it's a bit hard to tell," Lucario admitted. "There are so many of them under us that I can't pinpoint exact locations.

Hakamo-o sighed. "Why do I have a feeling we're gonna have to dig for the Diglett?"

"We probably will. Dammit, I wish I knew that move," Lucario said. "Maybe one of us can break apart the ground a bit and the other can throw the poke balls?"

"I could use Earthquake and maybe drive them to the surface momentarily…" Hakamo-o explained. "Though _you_ may get a bit hurt in the process…"

Lucario thought for a moment, before creating a bone with her aura. She slammed it into the ground, before balancing on top. "There. This way I won't be affected by the quake."

"Alright then," Hakamo-o replied before raising a leg and slamming it down onto the ground, breaking through it as the ground shook violently. Hakamo-o retracted her leg as the shaking stopped.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" she heard someone else yell from the tunnel.

Rolling her eyes as Lucario got off of her bone, she eyed the cracked ground, expecting to see any sign of Diglett. Initially, it seemed like she had done it for nothing, but after a few seconds, Diglett began popping out of the ground to see what was going on above ground.

"Quick, chuck the balls from the bag!"

Lucario nailed seven of them before the rest of the Diglett popped back into the ground. Grinning at her victory, she cracked her knuckles. "Rinse and repeat."

"Isn't that a quote from the Karate Kid?" Hakamo-o giggled as she went over to pick up all of the pokeballs.

Every time she bend down, Lucario had to turn away, hiding a blush. "L-let's just focus on the challenge."

Hakamo-o, upon picking up the last ball, saw that Lucario was blushing faintly, causing her to raise a brow.

 **000**

" **Huh, I guess she really does have things to sort out," Hakamo-o giggled. "I mean, I… I think I'm the same way. I mean, not** _ **fully**_ **, but yeah…"**

 **000**

"Alright ladies! With a plan and my Introduction to Rules: Graphic Novel Edition, our chances of victory are certain!" Parasect exclaimed.

"Eh, I prefered the movie," Umbreon joked.

Lycanroc, despite normally being talkative and outgoing, couldn't find anything to say in the group she was in. This was very unusual for her, as she usually never let anything stop her, but she just couldn't feel a positive vibe with the two she was with. Well, Umbreon was okay, but Parasect, she had literally no comment. She just started looking around the section of the tunnel they were in, yanking up the bag on her back.

Parasect pulled out several binders. "I have the perfect plan for our success. After researching this location for the past three days, I have determined the most populated areas we can exploit! Now follow me in single file!"

He scuttled off, while Umbreon fell back a bit with Lycanroc.

"Just ignore him, all right? Or make fun of him. You get good reactions," Umbreon said, shrugging.

"I'd rather not," the wolf replied, being feeling a lump under her left foot. Lifting it, she saw an Alolan Diglett looking up at her. "Hey!" she greeted.

She took off the bag and took out a pokeball. She dropped it on the Diglett, capturing it. She stood back up with a smile. "Well, that's one."

"THAT WASN'T IN ONE OF THE PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED AREAS I ASSIGNED!" Parasect screeched. "IT DOES NOT COUNT!"

"Shut up," Umbreon snapped.

"Okay," Lycanroc spoke up. "Why don't _you_ follow your plan, and we'll follow ours, that way we're still working together and we just combine the amount that we get at the end?"

"NNNNNNNnngh," Parasect twitched.

"Just go," Umbreon said, rolling her eyes.

As Parasect scuttled off, grumbling to himself, Lycanroc let out a sigh. "This is gonna be a _long_ challenge…"

"I say that every day," Umbreon said, shaking her head.

"Well, I can't really complain," Lycanroc replied. "Everyone was and _is_ quite a character here."

"I know and I hate it. Look, do you want to dig underground or something?" Umbreon asked. "Or we could just skive off and forget the challenge."

"Digging underground should be a good enough strategy," Lycanroc answered. "Why would you want to shirk off? Don't you want to win?"

"I just don't care," Umbreon said. "I still have no idea how I've lasted this long in the competition. Plus, Parasect ruined the challenge for me."

"So, you just let other people determine how you feel instead of trying think and act for yourself?" Lycanroc questioned. "That's not a good way to live, you know."

"No, I just really don't like Parasect," Umbreon grumbled.

"Well, he's just different," Lycanroc said with a shrug. "Honestly, I don't anything to say about him since I don't know him. What is it about him that you don't like?"

"I just don't do well with people in general, and he's annoying," Umbreon said.

"Okay, and why is that?" Lycanroc prodded.

"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Umbreon asked.

"Because there's always a reason why people act the way they do. Whether they be antisocial, overly shy, 'bitchy', a jerk, you get the picture," Lycanroc explained. "I just try to help people come out of that phase. I know I can never change anyone, but it's just interesting to know."

"You'd want to talk to Zorua, then," Umbreon noted. "I don't have any special story or anything; I've kinda always been prickly. Probably the music I was obsessed with as a kid."

"No bad experiences? You just choose to be this way?" Lycanroc inquired. After a while, she shrugged. "Okay, that's fair, I guess."

"Well, if you're serious about winning this then we'd better start digging," Umbreon said, resigned to doing work. "Any good at it?"

Lycanroc giggled. "Me and my cousins used to dig pits along the pathway in front of my house just to see if people were paying attention. You wouldn't be surprised at how many cracked their phones or glasses thanks to us."

"Sounds devious. You can take the lead then. I'll take care of the captures," Umbreon said, grabbing a few pokeballs.

"Uh… okay, cool", Lycanroc said as she began digging in the spot she was standing in.

 **000**

"Alright, I'll go see if there are any Diglett around the front entrance, Slowking, you look after Tsareena," Infernape said as he walked to the front.

Slowking sat down, thinking. "I may have an idea. Can you use sweet scent, Tsareena?"

Tsareena turned to him. "I could, but then again, where'd be the fun in that?"

"Er….so we could win the challenge?" Slowking asked.

"But why would I want you to win?" asked Tsareena.

"Well, you would win as well," Slowking said, trying to sound patient. "We all succeed."

"You didn't answer my question. Why would I want _you_ to win?" she inquired softly, getting close to the Royal Pokemon. "It's obvious that you're a threat. _You_ know that you're a threat, and you're afraid of anyone seeing your lack of self-confidence as a weakness. That little display of petty complaining during the last challenge just showed me who you are. A frightened little bitch who hides behind his 'superior' intellect in an attempt to feel better about his pathetic existence."

Slowking raised an eyebrow. "So Infernape was somehow right about something?"

"I wouldn't say _that_ ," Tsareena responded. "He was correct about my true intellect, _but_ , that buffoon was kind enough to actually try to understand me rather than brush me off as a brainless liability."

"Well, isn't your intention to act like a brainless liability?" Slowking asked. "You clearly managed to fool almost everyone."

"Yes, but I never truly expected to be treated as such," Tsareena replied. "This was majorly a test for me to see who actually has a heart and who will actually care to help someone who seems mentally challenged. As a result of this test, it showed me that here, if you stand in the way of someone and a prize, it doesn't matter your disability. I was eliminated first because no one bothered to help me until it was far too late."

"Well, my apologies for patronizing you," Slowking said, bowing his head. "But why did you choose to tell me specifically?"

"Because I know for a fact that you're the main player that almost everyone from your cast is watching for," Tsareena replied. "And the way that you pleaded desperately so that Tepig didn't win really interested me. Y'see, my test has already been failed by the people on my side, so I'm going to make sure that they learn their lesson. But you, someone with much higher capabilities, complaining about someone finding an easier way to get something done? That's just purely idiotic. Nobody knows my capabilities, and I intend to keep it that way until it's too late."

"I merely found Tepig's loophole unfair," Slowking said with a shrug. "I wouldn't call it pleading per se. Though I wasn't expecting Shuckle to counter my argument."

"I know that _you_ wouldn't call it pleading, but myself, along with the others, saw it as such," Tsareena replied. "The Great Slowking, bitching about unfairness when he has psychic abilities that could help him with anything. You don't get to use them in a single course, so you decide to complain about someone's genetic makeup that allows them to proceed easily. Don't you get that psychic-types have the biggest advantage out of any type? Being able to read minds, levitate on a whim, control other people's movements and thoughts, among much more. But nope, he's a fire-type, he shouldn't be allowed to use his genetic makeup and resistance to lava to help him!"

Tsareena sighed. "Bottom line, Slowking. You're not gonna be winning this challenge. That's the end of that."

Slowking rolled his eyes. "Fine. Think what you will. So I assume you aren't going to put in any effort in helping me?"

Tsareena blinked in response.

Slowking sighed. "Fine then. I'll figure something out by myself. Have fun with your experiments."

Infernape ran over just as Slowking was walking away. "Uh….what's his problem?"

"What's a problem?" Tsareena inquired.

"That's a really nice philosophy to have, Tsareena!" Infernape said.

Tsareena smirked to herself.

 **000**

Outside the cave, Dhelmise was floating along with Tepig and Zorua. Surprisingly, they hadn't been speaking to each other or making quips as of late.

Feeling annoyed in the silence, Dhelmise groaned. "Come on, it can't take that long to find Diglett!"

"Oy! Zorua! Here's an idea!" Tepig said. "You could turn into a REALLY sexy female Diglett and attract all the males."

"Dude, they have Arena Trap. I'm not getting sexually assaulted over a challenge," Zorua growled.

"It'd be more action you'd get from Ampharos," Tepig snorted.

"I-that's-" Zorua stammered. "Shut up, Tepig. Oh hey, the tracker is picking up something."

"Is it detecting an excuse to change the subject?" Tepig asked.

"Why don't you pester Dhelmise for a while?" Zorua snapped. "I thought you'd be bored of me by now."

"I'll never be bored of you," Tepig said. "Dhelmise, who should we vote for when we win?"

"Hmm," Dhelmise started. "Well, I enjoy everyone's company _sooo_ much," he said sarcastically. "But, I say Pyukumuku. His innocent cuteness will drive him further and force a stereotypical underdog story."

"Okay," Tepig said, shrugging. "I don't really care for who leaves in our gang. I think we're trying to take out Munchlax?"

"Well, Scrafty essentially has him wrapped around his finger," Zorua said. "Scrafty wants to get Slowking eliminated. So in good faith I'm making him drop Munchlax."

"Ooh, two underdog stories for the price of one," Dhelmise acknowledged. "Though, I would think that you'd want to get rid of the annoyingly obvious threat that is Slowking. Ignoring him for too long will propel him further. Come to think of it, all of you have a reason to get the hell out. Well, other than Ditto fox here."

"Oh? And do tell why…" Tepig urged.

"Well, let's see…" Dhelmise started. "You've got a bitchy psychic-type who can't handle things not going his way, police brutality, two underdog stories, an idiot who should have _been_ eliminated, a snarker who gets on everyone's nerves, a druggie, male stereotypical 'badass' threat, _female_ stereotypical 'badass' threat, and a wannabe thug who thinks he runs shit. If you're serious about making it further, I suggest you target the big threats or the losers who are trying to convince you to work with them. It'll put them in their place."

Tepig shrugged. "Whatever works, mate-"

"Hold on," Zorua said, batting him aside. "Look, leverage is everything. Sure, Slowking's clearly a threat, but everyone knows that. It's the reason why Scrafty is so desperate for him to leave in the first place. I may not like him in the game, but I'm in the position of power here."

"Yeah, but how long'll that last?" Tepig drawled. "Why not just take out Slowking now instead of dragging him out."

"Well, I've always seen these games like a puzzle, if that makes sense," Zorua said. "Each piece can be put in a perfect place, but if you force it then it'll break. Scrafty is so desperate for Slowking's elimination that he'll do anything in his power to keep me until that happens. Not exactly something I want to waste, you know?"

Tepig uncapped a bottle of milk. "I'm just here for the shits and giggles, love. Do what you will?"

"So, you rather risk yourself getting eliminated due to random circumstance just to keep a singular punk begging for your assistance… instead of trying to gain other allies to take down threats that could likely kick your ass?" Dhelmise inquired. "Alright, whatever. It's _your_ funeral. And I can guarantee that if you drag this out, Scrafty will get tired and get other assistance. Everyone knows Slowking's a threat on your side, so it'd be pretty simple to get other help. And if we win this, _I'm_ gonna take full advantage."

There was silence once Dhelmise made that call, Zorua gave him a glare as he and Tepig forged ahead to search for the Diglett. Suddenly, the tracker began beeping, signifying that there were Diglett underneath them.

"So, can you use your anchor powers to trap them?" Tepig asked.

"We're sorry, but the person that you are trying to get to dig is unable to at the moment," Dhelmise replied. "May I suggest little miss pawn master? She could turn into an Excadrill and dig us a hole.

"My powers don't work like that," Zorua said. "The form I take is always just an illusion."

"Look's like we're going with the original plan!" Tepig said, giving her a saucy wink.

Zorua took a deep breath. "Fine. But I swear to Arceus if I get pregnant I'm going to kill you. And use Dhelmise as the weapon."

"... I have no objections," Dhelmise replied.

"Neither do I," Tepig said. "Go on then. Do it!"

Zorua rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

She hopped in a hole, already changing her form.

"So, want to get a drink?" Tepig asked.

"Didn't you just drink the Miltank tit juice not that long ago?" Dhelmise inquired.

"Eh, something heavier. I heard there's a really nice Alolan bar at KoniKoni city, where they put the little umbrellas in your drink."

"Meh, no thanks. I don't really drink," Dhelmise replied.

Suddenly, a shriek was heard from inside of the hole, but the two of them shrugged it off.

Zorua burst out of the ground, still in her Diglett form, sprinting away as fast as she could before dozens of them began popping out from the ground. "I USED THE WRONG FORM AND THEY THINK I'M FROM A RIVAL GANG!"

"...Did you know they have feet?" Tepig asked, a split second before he was overcome by the stampede of Diglett...

Dhelmise floated upwards, watching the chaos. He started to whistle as he floated their back of pokeballs to himself. "Sad. So so sad," he said as he started dumping the balls out on the stampeding Diglett.

A good majority of the balls actually hit the Diglett, fourteen to be exact. After that, the Sea Creeper saw that the stampede had stopped and they were now beating up on Tepig, as Zorua returned back to her normal form. The fox approached him, panting and growling.

"Ow...shit….damn...why are they hitting me? You're the one that insulted their cultural norms," Tepig groaned.

Zorua chuckled. "You're great bait, Tepig. Keep up the good work."

Dhelmise picked up the remaining six balls and tossed them at more of the Diglett. "We need more balls. Fetch, foxy."

Zorua growled as she started heading back to gather more pokeballs.

Tepig groaned, rising to his feet. "It's lovely to have supportive friends."

"Sure, whatever you say," Dhelmise replied.

 **000**

" **I think we have a pretty decent lead right now, but I have a feeling that we're gonna get fucked over by something," Dhelmise stated.**

 **000**

Incineroar lifted up an abandoned cart to check underneath it. He acknowledged that there was a singular burrow underneath it. Gallade had been searching nearby, while Scrafty was just smoking while watching the two. Or what he called 'supervising'.

"Hey! I wound a burrow over here!" Incineroar called. The two others moved toward him in interest.

"Blech," Scrafty said. "You two still smell like spoiled milk. Take a shower or something."

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to offend your senses with the odor of something that was part of the last challenge," Incineroar replied brashly. "And sorry, but we can't take showers right now during the second challenge, but if we could, I would _happily_ do so."

"It's okay, I forgive you," Scrafty said, snickering. "Anyway, you guys are going about this challenge all wrong."

"How so?" Gallade asked in a low voice.

"We're already at a major disadvantage because two of the teams have trackers, yeah?" Scrafty said. "Well, we don't need trackers to go the same route as the people tracking them."

"Hmm, so you expect me to follow either a team with a good friend or a jackass, both of whom will realize what's going on?" Incineroar responded, folding his arms. "It sounds like a decent plan, but seriously. They could lead us down a shitty path for all we know."

"Look, I know it's not exactly morally sound, but we're in the late game," Scrafty said. "We're going to have to get our hands dirty if we really want to go all the way. Tell you what, if you don't want to sneak attack them then we can just challenge them formally."

Gallade shrugged. "Victini DID say it was a part of the challenge…"

Incineroar rolled his eyes. "Fine. We can go back out and go after Dhelmise and his team."

"Fair enough," Scrafty said. "How good is Dhelmise in a fight, anyway?"

"I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen him battle," Incineroar replied with a shrug. "He may be able to verbally kick your ass, but physically, it's pretty iffy."

"Then we'd better get going if we want to find them," Scrafty said. "Usually I just follow Tepig's squealing."

"They didn't go anywhere, so we just have to walk back outside…" Incineroar replied.

The three of them started heading back to the exit of the tunnel, passing by a few other teams, whoupon seeing them, turned away with their collected Diglett. As they approached the exit, where the ground was royally cracked to shit, Scrafty couldn't help but feel eyes staring at him from behind.

"Charizard? Fuck off…" Scrafty stated.

Charizard flew over and landed next to the three of them. "Where are you three going? I don't see any Diglett on you."

"All of our pokeballs are still in the bag," Incineroar said, gesturing to the bag on his back. "And you're right, we haven't found any Diglett yet. That's why we're going outside. Having almost every team in here makes things difficult."

Charizard nodded. "I'm right behind you then. I haven't caught as many as I thought I would have."

"Whatever, just stay out of our way," Scrafty muttered.

 **000**

"Uh, guys, shouldn't we be back in Diglett's Tunnel?" Pyukumuku questioned, as he, Munchlax, and Shuckle were back at the hotel on the seventh floor.

"Wait...shhhh this is gonna be awesome," Munchlax said. "Okay, the order is in, so you two head back to the cave. I promise this is gonna be beautiful. Pyukumuku, can you push Shuckle in his wagon?"

"Sure," the Sea Cucumber said, grabbing hold of the wagon handle and hopping toward the elevators. He had to tug hard in order to pull the 45 pound bug- and rock-type toward the doors. "They said two hours, right? How much time has passed so far?"

"Uh...about forty-five minutes," Shuckle replied as he was pulled.

Once they were at the doors, Shuckle hit the down button on the elevators.

"So if we win, are there any jerks you want me to eliminate?"

"Hmm… not really. I like everyone here!" Pyukumuku chirped.

"Well, somebody's gotta go. I just don't want to vote off anyone unfairly."

"That's how it's gonna have to go," Pyukumuku replied. "Oh well."

"That won't be fun. Do you like, have a best friend here? Or, just into everyone equally?"

"Bewear's already gone," Pyukumuku replied. "So, no best friend. But everyone else is equal to me!"

"Oh, well I guess I'll just flip a coin or something," Shuckle said as he as wheeled out of the elevator. "But uh...if you can, try to vote for Scrafty to leave if we win. It'll make my life way easier."

"Okay," Pyukumuku replied as the elevator doors opened.

 **-000-**

Pyukumuku and Shuckle, after twenty more minutes passed, finally made it back to Diglett's Tunnel. Pyukumuku was noticeably out of breath, which Shuckle took note of.

"Um… are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… I'm okay..." Pyukumuku replied, sweating. "It's a shame that we wasted time getting back here, though."

"Aw, it's okay," Shuckle replied, petting his head as he got out of his wagon. "Now, let's find those Diglett!"

The two of them entered the tunnel and saw numerous holes spread across the entire front part of the cave before heading back out.

"I really wish Munchlax would tell me what he's planning," Shuckle groused. "At least it isn't Bidoof though. "Seriously though, are you okay? You want to sit in the wagon for a while?"

"No, no, it's okay," Pyukumuku wheezed. "I wanna help."

"You've helped us already by getting us the sweet tracker," Shuckle said. "Besides, I'll need your throwing arm for the Diglett."

Pyukumuku nodded as the two began to go into the tunnel. However, Pyukumuku realized something. "What, where _is_ the tracker?"

"Ohhhhh crap!" Shuckle groaned, slamming his head against the wagon. "MUNCHLAX!"

Pyukumuku sighed. "Well, I guess we won't be winning anything."

"Chill guys! I have arrived!"

Munchlax was driving forward in a….

"I got a fuckin' bulldozer!" Munchlax said, sitting inside of the large, yellow piece of equipment. "Who's your best friend?"

"Yeah, but how are we going to get it in the tunnel?" Shuckle asked.

Munchlax blinked. "Oh. Shit."

Shuckle rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. "Oi vey."

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Lucario decided to exit the cave for a while and ended up collecting three more Diglett in the process. The entire time, the two engaged in awkward silence, occasionally eyeing each other as they did specific tasks like moving rocks or picking up pokeballs.

"Am I the only one who feels like we're falling behind?" Lucario asked, whipping a ball at a retreating Diglett, catching it at a curve.

"I don't know," Hakamo-o said as she went to retrieve the ball. "I mean, I think we have a decent amount so far. I'm not sure how I feel about other teams suddenly deciding to come out, too, but maybe this is a sign."

"Yeah, but they have these bullshit trackers. Nice job beating Tepig's time by the way," Lucario said as an afterthought.

"Thanks," Hakamo-o replied as she placed the ball back into their bag. "Years and years of training. I love and hate how that's my explanation for everything."

"Hey wait," Lucario said. "I think I sense something metal under there. Something really big."

"Under where?" Hakamo-o asked, looking down at her feet. "The ground or the rocks?"

"Ground, I think," Lucario said, focusing. "Wait, is that a spoon? A really big spoo-"

A psychic force slammed her into Hakamo-o, bowling them both over. Slowking approached, looking guilty.

"I'm sorry about this, but I REALLY need this challenge win."

With a swish of his fingers, their pokeballs flew into his hands. "I promise not to eliminate you when I win."

He teleported away.

"What the hell hit me?" Lucario groaned, before realizing she was lying on Hakamo-o's chest. With a strangled cry she jumped away.

Hakamo-o groaned, rubbing her head. "It was that bastard Slowking. He said that he needed the win," she explained, dusting herself off before looking at Lucario, who was blushing a _very_ deep shade of crimson. "Uh… are you okay?"

"I-uh….y-yeah," Lucario said, her voice cracking. "Wait, where are all the Poke balls?"

"The bastard took them and teleported away," Hakamo-o growled, clenching her fists, looking back at the tunnel entrance. "We need to get back in there and get them back. Ugh! Where the hell is Charizard!? He's supposed to be helping us!"

Lucario was still blushing, looking over Hakamo-o's body from a distance.

"I COME WHEN MY NAME IS CALLED! OH SHIT!" Charizard dropped Mr. Pineapple, and it bonked Hakamo-o on the head.

Hakamo-o groaned, holding the stuffed toy with a peeved expression. "Where the hell have you been this whole time?!"

"Flying around. I got some Diglett," Charizard said, tossing about a dozen pokeballs. "How's your progress?"

"FUCKING ZERO APPARENTLY!" Lucario snarled.

Charizard gaped. "What?"

"Slowking knocked us over and stole our pokeballs," Hakamo-o growled, folding her arms.

"Well, he can't have gone fucking far, can he?" Charizard asked. "He's not exactly a fast Pokemon."

"He teleported away, so he's either back in there or he's hiding somewhere to wait until the challenge is over," Hakamo-o replied.

"There's no use finding him then, is there?" Lucario asked. "Bastard must have used the spoon to distract me. Do we have any point of winning at this point?"

"With just twelve?" Hakamo-o questioned. "I don't know. Unless someone else sucked completely, we probably have no chance. How much time do we have left?"

Charizard looked down at his watch and swore. "Forty minutes. Ugh, it's over. This place has been thoroughly searched by almost all of us!"

"Well…" Hakamo-o started. "They _did_ say that sabotage was allowed, right? Slowking just did it to us, so..."

"Assuming we can find him," Lucario muttered. "Who was allied with him again?"

"Tsareena and Infernape," Hakamo-o reminded.

"Okay, so pushovers?" Charizard asked. "Tsareena didn't seem very...er...self aware."

"And Infernape is a dunce, albeit a big hearted one," Lucario said. "If we find him we can at the very least make sure he does not win."

Hakamo-o nodded. "Come on…"

The three of them entered the tunnel again in order to locate Slowking, Infernape, and Tsareena.

Slowking sat on top of the tunnel, watching them enter. "It's about time I stopped pulling my punches."

Focusing his mind, he closed the tunnel off with a barrier. "This won't be the day I leave."

 **000**

"So, you've never been d'ed down before?" Umbreon inquired. "Jeez. I thought that you were a party girl…"

Lycanroc blushed. "Hey, I just haven't felt comfortable with anyone yet."

"You wanna know a secret?" Umbreon asked, making sure Parasect wasn't nearby. "I haven't either. I'm just surprised we share the same reason."

"Wow, hehe," Lycanroc giggled. "I would've thought you'd be more willing. No offense or anything."

"Uh? Just the opposite?" Umbreon drawled. "I'm not letting some snotty boy touch me."

"Oh… so you're-" she started.

"That's Shuckle," Umbreon said, shaking her head. "I'm just a grumpy bitch."

"So you don't think you can find a guy that likes that?" Lycanroc queried as she overturned another rock in the tunnel. "I'm sure that I know a dozen of guys around my neighborhood that'd love a girl like you."

"I mean a grumpy bitch with high standards and a low libido," Umbreon corrected. "I don't really like physical contact much. There was one boy I liked back in high school. I broke his arm. That's my way of showing affection."

"Well, having a low libido isn't that bad," Lycanroc replied. "And the breaking his arm thing just seems like something a child would do to show affection to someone. So, what's your type of guy?"

"How the hell are you getting me to spill like this?" Umbreon asked. "You're horribly good natured. Reminds me of another guy I know."

"I'm not doing anything. I guess I just make people feel comfortable," Lycanroc said with a shrug as they approached Infernape and Tsareena, who were sitting and staring at a corner of the tunnel. "Uh…"

"Hey Infernape," Umbreon said, her feelings towards him slightly uplifted since the intensity of the last challenge. "How's my fellow Tinkerbell doing?"

Infernape grinned up at her. "Great! I have like….eight Diglett! Hi Lycanroc!"

The she-wolf waved back at him. "So um… how're things with Tsareena?"

"Well, uh… she hasn't exactly done anything except stand around and blink…." Infernape said. "But they're REALLY cute blinks. I'm sure she's just getting into the right mood!"

Lycanroc giggled and nodded. "Nice."

Umbreon chuckled. "At least she's quiet and not intrusive. She won me over already."

"Yeah, she's a pretty cool girl," said Lycanroc. "Still not sure about why she acts the way she does, but, hey, she's not bothering anyone."

Suddenly, Hakamo-o, Lucario, and Charizard entered the scene upon gaining sight of Infernape and Tsareena.

"Whoa! Hey!" Infernape waved. "Whole get together going on here!"

"Someone kill me," Umbreon groaned.

"Where's… Slowking?" Hakamo-o growled. "That bastard stole all of our pokeballs. Minus the ones, Charizard got us."

"Was it badass?" Infernape whispered.

"Infernape… now is NOT the time!" Lucario growled.

"Really?" Umbreon asked. "Because I'm really enjoying myself right now."

"It was badass, admittedly," Charizard said.

"YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE!" Lucario roared.

"IF YOU'D JUST CAME BACK AND STUCK AROUND, MAYBE IT WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN HAPPENED!" Hakamo-o roared.

"Mom, dad, please stop fighting," Infernape whimpered.

The two angry females exchanged looks before blushing and looking away from each other.

"Okay, sexual tension twins aside," Charizard grumbled, stomping past them. "Tell me where Slowking is or I follow his footsteps."

"I-I don't know!" Infernape said. "We split up and by the time I came back he was storming off. Maybe Tsareena said something mean?"

"Tsareena couldn't string a sentence together!" Charizard snapped. "Now where the hell is he?!"

"C'mon, dumbass," Umbreon said. "Maybe if you stopped thinking out of your ass you wouldn't be so behind all the time. You think INFERNAPE would agree to sabotage someone?"

Charizard's tail slammed on the ground. "Ohohoho no! You are the LAST person I'm taking shit from today, Umbreon!"

"Oh this should be good," Umbreon drawled. "What are you going to do about it, dragon turd?"

Infernape nudged Lycanroc. "I feel like we should be preventing this from escalating."

"Yeah," Lycanroc said, getting between the two. "I don't think this is going to help _anything_ right now, guys. Let's just try to move on and be adults about this."

"Not my fault he can't take criticism," Umbreon snorted. "Or bitches when he doesn't get his way."

"Shut up, Umbreon!" Charizard growled.

"Sylveon told me how much of a control freak you are!" Umbreon chuckled, but there was a bitter edge to her voice. "How they let a psychopath like you into the police is a mystery."

"SHUT UP!"

Infernape was desperately trying to pull Charizard back as he pawed the ground. Lucario and Hakamo-o merely gaped at the scene, while Lycanroc was tapping her foot rapidly, feeling a bit tense about the scene.

"Seriously, you make Parasect look like a follower!" Umbreon said, still laughing. "Thank god everyone can see your actions on television. After watching the footage, they'll probably take away your badge-"

"GRAAAH!" Charizard roared, elbowing Infernape so hard in the face that he toppled over, falling into Tsareena. He flew forward at high speeds, slamming his tail into Lycanroc and sending her flying. Umbreon only had a moment to widen her eyes before his hand was gripped tight around her neck and he slammed her into the wall.

Umbreon tried not to cry out in pain, but Charizard snarled at her, his face an inch away from her own. "What do you want to say now, Umbreon? Any more back talk?"

Despite the situation, Umbreon managed to force a choked laugh. "You're fucking screwed after this competition, asshole."

Charizard raised a Mega Punch, but before he could, a green powder descended over him. Groaning, he flopped over and fell asleep.

Parasect looked over him distastefully. "Dreadful, simply dreadful! No coordination or strategy, merely aggressive nonsense! I was always the better leader!"

Umbreon let out a gasp. "I uh...thanks, Parasect!"

"Do not thank me!" Parasect snapped. "If you had followed my plan, you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place! Also! How dare you claim that Charizard is more controlling than me? This is the great Parasect we are talking about, and Parasect will take credit where it is due! Now apologize for your blasphemy!"

Umbreon groaned. "Don't push it. You guys all right?"

Infernape was still lying on top of Tsareena. "Why is my nose purple?"

"Wait, where's Lycanroc?!" Hakamo-o asked, looking around and not seeing the wolf anywhere.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc was sitting outside on the other side of the tunnel, holding her knees as she stared down at the ground.

"Uh...Lycanroc?" Pyukumuku questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, we're not going to have to pay for the giant hole we made in Diglett's tunnel, are we?" Munchlax asked, pointing behind him. The tunnel had been completely destroyed behind the bulldozer.

Lycanroc didn't respond. She seemed to be in a daze, almost as if she was going to cry.

 **-000-**

A younger Rockruff was curled up in a corner of a rather demolished living room. The couch was torn, the television was broken, the plants were toppled over, and the windows were all busted. Rockruff was whimpering in the corner as her parents argued, which was the norm every time she got home from school.

" _YOU'RE NEVER AT HOME ANYWAY!" her mother, another Lycanroc, shouted toward an Ursaring. "I KNOW YOU'RE CHEATING WITH THAT SLUT EVERY TIME YOU GO TO WORK!"_

" _BITCH! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT GOES ON WITH ME OUTSIDE THIS HOUSE, SO SHUT YOUR DUMB ASS UP!" her father retorted._

" _Ohoho please, don't you even start with that," her mother replied. "I_ _ **followed**_ _you, and I_ _ **saw**_ _you fucking that dirty bitch in the alley! I'm not stupid!"_

" _WELL YOU ARE IF YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS ME!"_

" _HE HAD THE SAME FUCKING TATTOO! STOP TRYING TO PLAY ME YOU DUMB BASTARD!"_

" _You'd better watch yourself, bitch…" her father snarled, grabbing her mother by the neck. "I'm not afraid of going back to jail. I've made almost everyone in there my bitch, so don't think I'll have a tough time."_

 _Her mother slashed at his crotch with her feet, causing him to yell in pain, but tighten his grip around her neck. Growling, he threw her toward the window, causing her to hit her head on the windowsill._

 _Her father walked away after doing that, her mother barely moving. Once hearing him leave the house, she went toward her mother, who was sobbing as she painfully rose up, shakily dusting glass off of herself. Rockruff nuzzled her, crying a bit as well._

 **-000-**

Lycanroc buried her face in her arms.

"CONTESTANTS! TIME IS UP! IT'S TIME TO SEE WHO WINS!" Solgaleo's voice projected from his location.

"Splendid," Shuckle groaned. "Let's head back."

Shuckle and Pyukumuku hopped onto the bulldozer, with Pyukumuku noticing that Lycanroc wasn't moving.

"Lycanroc? You coming?" he asked in concern.

Hearing his voice this time, Lycanroc sniffled, looking up a bit. "N-no. I'm okay," she said getting back onto her feet. "I'm just gonna head back to the hotel and rest a bit. Okay?"

Shuckle gave a sheepish grin. "You want a ride?"

"No thanks," she replied, rising to her feet. She started heading back to the hotel, hugging herself. Pyukumuku couldn't help but feel more concerned; it felt like Drampa all over again, only without the constant barrage of hate.

"I can't tell if we should follow her or not," Munchlax whispered. "She looks like she's hiding a wound."

"Come on," Pyukumuku said, not willing to let her just walk away like that. It was so out of character for her to even be upset!"

"At the very least, we have a good haul," Shuckle said, nodding at his bag of Poke balls. "Turns out a bulldozer is great for scooping up Diglett. And Victini never specified a time limit for when we had to get back there."

"Uh… they literally just told us to come back," Munchlax pointed out.

"It 's okay. You guys can go. I'll talk to her," Pyukumuku replied as he hopped off of the bulldozer and after Lycanroc.

Shuckle and Munchlax exchanged glances.

"I don't feel good about this," Munchlax admitted.

"Well, hopefully Pyukumuku can handle it," Shuckle said. "We better get back. There's a good chance we could actually pull this off and eliminate Scrafty!"

Munchlax nodded, driving the bulldozer forwards. Underneath the vehicle, Scrafty grinned and winked at the camera, whistling _Heigh Ho_ under his breath.

 **000**

" **Lycanroc hardly ever gets upset and she was** _ **crying**_ **about something. I don't like it," Pyukumuku explained.**

 **000**

Almost everyone made it back to the final area. Some wore larger smiles than others, while others had angry expressions plastered on their face. The hosts, seeing this, were very confused.

"Uh, should we ask why Charizard is unconscious?" asked Lunala, seeing the sleeping dragon.

Parasect chuckled. "MY TACTICS RENDERED HIM IN THIS STATE!"

"Did Munchlax get back yet?" Shuckle said nervously. "He was holding off Scrafty a while ago and I haven't seen him since."

"No, I think the better question is where's Lycanroc," Hakamo-o growled, folding her arms. "I haven't seen her since that bullshit happened in the tunnel."

"What HAPPENED in the tunnel?!" Shuckle snapped. "Lycanroc looked awful when we found her. Pyukumuku went to comfort her."

"WHAT?!" Hakamo-o and Incineroar exclaimed. Hakamo-o glared at Charizard's unconscious form. "This fucking BASTARD!" she exclaimed, kicking him in the head.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, will someone explain what the hell happened in there and why my best friend is apparently hurt?!" Incineroar snarled, clenching his fists.

"I got hurt too, in case anyone cared," Infernape sniffed, holding a cloth over his nose.

"We don't," Umbreon drawled. "Look, it was my fault.

"What did you do?" Incineroar growled, glaring daggers at the Moonlight Pokemon.

"I instigated Charizard and he snapped. He accidentally knocked Lycanroc in the way of getting me."

"Wow, sounds like everything exciting happened to everyone except us," Tepig said. "Besides me getting kicked the shit out of by some pissed off Diglett."

"So my friend is hurt because of you? But most importantly, because of _this_ sorry bastard?" Incineroar growled, approaching Charizard's unconscious form.

"Umbreon, you're laying it too thin. You know damn well that wasn't an accident. He _intentionally_ elbowed Infernape and knocked Lycanroc away so that he could get at you," Lucario stated. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"Charizard has anger issues! Look, I am the last person that wants to defend him, but I wanted him angry in the first place. He'll probably feel horrible about it later," Umbreon said. "Look, Incineroar, be mad at me if anyone. I'm as much to blame as he is."

"Anger issues or not, that bastard shouldn't have but any part of himself on Lycanroc," Incineroar growled. He turned to the hosts. "Just tell us who fucking won so I can go check on her…"

Victini looked over his notes. "Uh….well, shit Shuckle. Tough luck for you. You would have had the highest if Scrafty didn't sabotage you on the way back."

Shuckle gritted his teeth.

"Anyway, the winner is Slow-"

"I don't want it," Slowking said, folding his arms.

Infernape blinked. "Dude, what?"

"Give the immunity to Infernape and Tsareena, but not me," Slowking said. "I was out of line, and I caused enough problems. I stole from all your supplies and indirectly or not, I helped set off Charizard's rage out of desperation. I-I want everyone to know that it isn't me. "

Victini shrugged. "Sorry Slowking, but if you're disqualifying yourself then you're disqualifying the team."

"Dude, come oooooon!" Infernape groaned.

"Sorry Infernape and Tsareena. Uh….well the next in line is Tepig, Dhelmise, and Zorua."

"Ha! Didn't get my shit kicked in for nothing! That's how I play!" Tepig boasted.

"Where the hell were you two?" Gallade asked. "Incineroar and I looked everywhere."

"That's for me to know and you to suck on, ya blue footed boobie!" Tepig said.

"Well, looks like we have our winners, so, as Lunala said earlier, you get to choose who leaves from each cast," Solgaleo said. "And be sure to make the choice that you think will be _beneficial_ for the opposing cast or at least decent."

"So, Dhelmise, who's going from my cast?" Victini inquired.

 **000**

" **Well, Zorua and I decided to make a deal," Dhelmise said. "She gets rid of Pyukumuku and I get rid of-"**

 **000**

"Munchlax," Dhelmise said nonchalantly.

There was a shared gasp of shock and anger among everyone. After hearing what had gone done in the cave… and how a few others were hurt, he decides to go...for MUNCHLAX?

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Shuckle said, grabbing and rubbing his head. "N-not again. Dhelmise _please-"_

"Sorry buddy boy. No underdog story for your friend," Dhelmise replied.

"Once again, Dhelmise proves that he's a complete jackass without a lick of empathy," Lunala remarked. "Anyway, Tepig and Zorua, who's leaving from _our_ cast?"

Zorua looked down. "Can I change my answer?"

"If you do, I'm changing mine, too," Dhelmise glared. "We had a _deal_."

"WHAT KIND OF DEAL!" Shuckle cried out. "Zorua, you changed! I know you did! Don't do this now! What would Ampharos do in this situation!"

Zorua looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I-I-"

"We vote Pyukumuku," Tepig said, looking devoid of emotion. "And it was my choice, not hers. So don't get mad at her."

Shuckle was at a loss for words. "I-I'm finding Munchlax."

He crawled off as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Dude, let me help you out!" Infernape shouted.

"Leave me alone!"

There was an awkward silence once Shuckle disappeared into the cave.

"Well, this was an eventful crossover, I'd say," Dhelmise said with a sigh. "I'll be back at the hotel."

He disappeared from view, leaving the others to wallow in pity and anger.

"Well, uh… hmm," Solgaleo stated, unsure about what to really do. "I… guess this episode's over."

Victini was wiping away a tear. "Y-yeah."

"Is young Victini crying?" Hariyama asked.

"No, I just have something in my eye!" Victini yelped.

"Well, everyone get back to the hotel," Lunala said, sounding a bit saddened herself. "Congrats to our final five and Victini's final ten."

"I don't think I like this game anymore," Infernape said.

 **000**

Lycanroc's face was buried in her pillow as she lied in her bed in her demolished room. She was sniffling, having been crying since she got back up there. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Pull yourself together. You'll be fine. It was a long time ago, just move on…"

She got back onto her feet and headed to her bathroom. She ran some warm water in the tub before looking at herself in the mirror. Sniffling, she picked up a tissue from the box and blew her nose before throwing it away. She then looked at the red scar extending from her lower chest and down to her stomach. She sighed.

She suddenly heard knocking at her door. She initially didn't want to answer it, just so she had alone time, but she had a feeling that it was Hakamo-o or Incineroar rushing to check up on her. She grabbed a towel to cover the scar before sulking to the door, she opened it and was surprised to see Pyukumuku there, panting heavily.

"Pyukumuku?" she asked softly. "What are you doing here?"

"You were sad outside of the tunnel," Pyukumuku answered. "That's not like you. So, I decided to come and check on you."

"Oh, well, that's thoughtful, but I'm okay," Lycanroc lied.

"Now you're lying," Pyukumuku replied. "I know you're not okay. You looked like you were hurt."

"Pyukumuku _please_. I'm fine," Lycanroc replied, squatting down to his level. "There's nothing for you to worry about."

When she squatted, Pyukumuku was able to catch a glimpse of something red on her chest area, and it wasn't fur.

"Lycanroc, I can _see_ that you're hurt!" Pyukumuku prodded, gaining an upset expression. "What happened in the cave?!"

Lycanroc groaned. She knew that he wasn't going to stop. So, she decided to just give him a portion of the truth. "Charizard got mad at Umbreon and I got caught in the crosshairs," she said, sniffling. "No big deal."

"You have a scar! This _is_ a big deal!" Pyukumuku exclaimed. "I'd never wish ill on anyone but… fudge Charizard! I hope that whoever wins for us eliminates him for this."

"I know it looks bad, but it only stings a little bit," Lycanroc assured, not once having a smile on her face. Noticing this, Pyukumuku had a feeling that there was more to it.

"So, if it doesn't hurt that much, why were you crying outside the tunnel?" Pyukumuku inquired.

"Pyukumuku. I'm sorry but, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Lycanroc replied. "I just want to put this all behind me and move on if I haven't been eliminated for whatever reason."

Hearing that, Pyukumuku looked down, disheartened. "I just want to help, but, if whatever's bothering you is _that_ important, you won't be able to move on by just trying to forget about it."

"PYUKUMUKU! YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR ELIMINATION! PLEASE COME DOWN!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shuckle's scream could be heard in the background after the announcement was made.

"What?!" Lycanroc bellowed. " _You_? Why would they eliminate you?! You're one of the sweetest guys ever!"

Pyukumuku sighed. "All good things must come to an end, I guess," he chirped awkwardly as he started hopping toward the elevators. He stopped along the way. "Just… remember what I said. You can't hold it in. And if this is something that you've always had in the back of your mind, you need to charge head on and conquer it before you lose your sanity. Okay?"

Lycanroc walked forward, dropping her towel and exposing her scar to him. Pyukumuku's eyes widened in shock as she approached. She picked him up and hugged him, tears starting to fall from her face. "Thank you."

Pyukumuku pet her shoulders. "You'll be fine. Now uh… could you help me with the elevator? I had to take the stairs to get up here since I couldn't really reach."

Lycanroc nodded, pressing the down button for him. When the doors opened, the two of them entered and she pressed the first floor button for him. Doing so, she initially wanted to see him off, but being around everyone with the scar, she knew that there would be a barrage of concerned comments rather than proper send offs. Looking down, she stepped back out and turned back to him. Pyukumuku nodded in understanding, giving her a thumbs up as the doors closed.

 **000**

 **Lycanroc had her face buried in her palms, before raising it up and revealing tear-filled eyes.**

 **000**

The doors opened, revealing the Sea Cucumber Pokemon as he hopped out of the doors. Immediately, Hakamo-o and Incineroar approached him, as Victini's cast was doing their own version of a ceremony outside. "We're sorry, dude," Incineroar said glumly. "I wish we could have just did _normal_ votes," he growled, glaring at the hosts.

"How's Lycanroc?" Hakamo-o inquired.

Pyukumuku sighed. "Just give her some time to herself. I'm sure she'll come back around soon. Did Charizard get eliminated like he deserves?"

Incineroar scoffed. "Of course not. _Dhelmise_ 's team won, and they made a deal to eliminate you and Munchlax."

Pyukumuku sighed. "Sounds like something he'd do," he responded. "Oh well."

"Well, Pyukumuku, time to go," said Lunala, levitating the Sea Cucumber Pokemon up so that he didn't have to hop all the way to the boat.

Hakamo-o and Incineroar immediately headed up to check on Lycanroc despite what Pyukumuku said, leaving Tsareena alone. She turned toward the confessional.

 **000**

" **Well, that was truly unfortunate," Tsareena commented. "Pyukumuku was one of the only ones who didn't treat me like I was a nobody or a lost cause. It's a shame to see him go already. I would have enjoyed bringing him to the finals, if I make it that far, that is."**

" **For now, I think it's time that Dhelmise learn a thing or two about** _ **respect**_ **," Tsareena stated.**

 **000**

Pyukumuku and Munchlax were put on the same boat as it sailed away. The three hosts exchanged looks.

"So, how long are your guys still gonna be around?" Lunala asked.

"Uh...I'm giving my guys a week long break," Victini said. "They earned it."

"Ooh, well this'll be interesting and awkward, then," Solgaleo said. "Because our cast still has challenges in the next week. I guess your cast will just be spectators."

"Interesting indeed," Victini replied.

"Well," Solgaleo started, turning to the cameras. "I hope you all enjoyed our _second_ crossover special! It uh… surely brought out a lot of feelings. So, uh, we'll see you all next Monday will a brand new challenge here on Total...Pokemon…:Alola!

 **000**

 **And...DONE! 20,000+ WORDS! WOO-HOO! This chap was just...wild. Like...very very very very wild and crazy. Uh… I honestly don't know what to say other than to check out Shuckle Master's TPI and that he was a great guy to work with! I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total... Pokemon…:Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Read and review, guys!" Pyukumuku chirped.**

 **000**

 **Pyukumuku was seen on his bed. When he saw that the camera was on, he waved. "Hello! I'm Pyukumuku!" he greeted.**

" **Uh, I think that you should pick me for Total Pokemon: Alola, because… uh… I want to make more friends and have fun!" he expressed. "I don't want to cause any trouble and hopefully I don't get eliminated that early!"**

" **I think that's it," he finished. "Uh, well, thanks for the opportunity!"**

 **He gave a peace sign.**

 **000**


	13. Episode 13: Seize the Night

**GOT ME FEELING DRUNK AND HIGH! SO HIGH! SO HIGH!**

 **000**

Following the second crossover and the elimination of Pyukumuku on their side, the final five contestants found themselves sharing the hotel and overall island with Victini's cast for a while.

A fair amount of them got along well, while others steered clear of each other immediately. As the Alola cast continued their daily routines, lounging around and finding things to do that'd preoccupy them, their visitors seemed rather lost. The hotel was great and all, but what else was there to really do?

If was going to be up to the Alola cast to entertain them or at the very least tell them what they could do in order to get them out of their hair.

 **000**

Lycanroc hadn't come out of her room since the incident, and it was now Monday morning. She had just been lying in bed, ignoring the constant knocking and calls of concern from Hakamo-o and Incineroar. She was actually expecting one of them to break down her door and come in that way, but in the back of her mind, she knew that they wouldn't. It'd wouldn't be right to them.

The red wolf slowly sat up, rubbing the slash mark on her person. It stung like a bitch when she took a hot bath, but now it was actually just an eyesore. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten at all in the past two days, not wanting to be bombarded with questions and worry.

She sighed. "Well, tonight I'll have to face everyone again anyway. Might as well just go grab something to eat," she said, standing onto her feet.

She went to the bathroom, grabbing a towel in order to cover the scar. Since Charizard was still here, she didn't know what she wanted to do, so she just decided to keep it hidden until the towel became a hindrance, which it likely would later on.

Wrapping it around herself and tucking it into itself, she took a deep breath before heading to her door. As soon as she stepped out, she saw that Incineroar was curled into a ball in front of her door. He was purring in his sleep, and didn't even seem to realize that she was exiting her room. She stroked the tiger's head before heading toward the elevators.

 **-000-**

The elevator doors opened and she sauntered out with a small smile. In the back of her mind, she was hoping that nobody was in the dining area. She just wanted to get some food and get back to her room until later tonight

Gazing through the circular window of the door, she saw that Hakamo-o, Lucario, Tepig, and Zorua were the only ones inside.

Lycanroc groaned to herself. "Great, one of my best friends here and three people from Victini's cast…"

She took a deep breath and decided to just remain silent. She'd give the general wave of greeting, but she wouldn't be as enthused about it.

She entered the area, and almost instantaneously, Hakamo-o stood up and hurried over to her to hug her. Lycanroc wasn't really expecting this from Hakamo-o, as she seemed to be more of a distance-reliant girl. Guess things changed.

"Are you okay?" the Scaly Pokemon questioned, holding onto her shoulders as she glanced over her.

So much for being silent; she was going to have to reply. "Yeah, I'm okay," she replied softly.

Hakamo-o was relieved to hear that. However, the towel didn't really make sense to her. Her friend wasn't wet at all, and the pale green cloth around her wasn't wet either. This caused suspicions to rise in her, and apparently Lucario could see that something was wrong as well, as she approached the two with an inquiry,

"Lycanroc… why are you wearing a towel if you're not even wet?" the jackal asked, folding her arms.

"What? I just… I just thought it'd be fit to wear it, that's all," Lycanroc replied sheepishly. "I-I mean. Doesn't the green go well with my fur and eyes?"

"Nice try sheila…" Tepig replied as she and Zorua approached them. "You may be hot as a Magcargo's flames, but that color is definitely a no."

Zorua gave Tepig a look, causing the pig to chuckle.

Lycanroc let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I'd rather not get into this, okay? I just came down here to get something to eat and go back to my room."

"Lycanroc. _What_ is _wrong_?" Hakamo-o questioned, looking her friend in the eyes.

"You guys will see tonight," Lycanroc replied in a depressed tone. She headed to the food stations, picking up a plate and scooping up the spaghetti, macaroni, a couple of biscuits, and a Bouffalant chop.

After that, she exited the room, leaving the four of them confused.

"Jeez, whatever happened must've really messed with her," Zorua commented.

Hakamo-o growled, clenching her fists. "Charizard…"

Lucario, being who she was, didn't know what to really say or do to make Hakamo-o feel better. She and the Scaly Pokemon had been getting long exceedingly well since they met on Friday, so she felt that it was her responsibility to try and attempt to make her feel better.

However, being as she was still unsure about relationships, and herself in general, she didn't know what to really do. She decided to rub her back a bit in an attempt to comfort her.

Hakamo-o sighed. "I'm just worried…"

Lucario thought about it for a moment. They hadn't gotten to finish their battle, as Hakamo-o spend the entire day prior trying to talk to Lycanroc and get her to come out of her room. She really wanted to see how long she and Hakamo-o could go.

"Uh… I hope this doesn't sound too awkward, but, do you want to try and finish the battle we started Friday?" Lucario inquired sheepishly. "Maybe it'll take your mind off of it or something…"

Hearing that idea, Hakamo-o was a bit unsure. Sure, she was always down to battle, but she was still worried about Lycanroc. With a sigh, she eyed Lucario before letting out a sigh. "I guess that'd be okay. Maybe pounding you to a pulp _will_ make me feel better."

Hearing that, Lucario rose a brow. "I doubt that you'll beat me. I mean, you were close last time, but now I know what to expect.."

"Well, we'll have to see about that won't we?" Hakamo-o said teasingly.

 **000**

" **Okay, I admit, Lucario's pretty attractive," Hakamo-o admitted. "I just… never thought I'd have these feelings for a girl before. It's… weird."**

 **000**

Tsareena was hanging out on the seventh floor of the hotel with Infernape and Slowking. Ever since she'd confronted Slowking about his personal issues and insecurities, she noticed that the hippo and otter hybrid held a very agitated expression, though his composure told the opposite. Infernape didn't seem to notice in the slightest, as he was still busy fawning over Tsareena.

"You're… really pretty, Tsareena," the Flame Pokemon admired. "Like _really really_ pretty. Have you ever tried becoming a model?"

Tsareena giggled in the back of her head at the compliment. She had heard that from many guys, and Infernape was no exception. Sure, it usually got annoying, but it was still a compliment. "What is a model?" she inquired.

Slowking huffed to himself, folding his arms. Tsareena, having noticed his miniature fit, grew a bit amused. So pathetic…

"Well, a model is someone who does fashion-like things and tries on clothes for people to show how good they look," Infernape calmly expounded with a smile.

"What is fashion?" she asked dopily being gazing to Slowking slightly. The Royal Pokemon facepalmed himself and was shaking his head. She was giggling in her head; she was hoping that her constant buffet of idiotic inquiries would bring vex the Royal Pokemon and coax him into leaving the vicinity.

"Well, fashion is… kinda weird," Infernape started. "It's like people's thoughts of clothes and hair and… stuff."

"...what's stuff?"

"I'm leaving," Slowking finally spoke, rising to his feet. "The faux ignorance by this… this pellucid primadonna annoys me to no end! Infernape, she's pulling the wool over your eyes!"

Tsareena watched Slowking as the water- and psychic-type strolled passed the exercise equipment and toward the elevators. Once he was out of view, she turned to Infernape, who was still watching his friend.

The ape sighed. "He just doesn't get it."

Tsareena placed both hands on the chimp's face. "No, he doesn't," Tsareena replied.

Infernape didn't show any surprise of shock when she spoke. He knew that she had potential and brains, but nobody believed him. "I just wish that he did…"

"Infernape, I don't think that Shuckle really considers you a friend," Tsareena started.

Infernape's eyes widened and he grew a saddened and confused expression. "Wait… what are you talking about? We've been good friends for a long time!"

"Infernape, sweetie, this is a competition," Tsareena replied. "There are barely any true friends. And if there are, that means that they aren't that serious about the competition, or they'll actually able to have fun and still be focused. Slowking is the mainly serious one."

"But, how do you know?" Infernape questioned. "You hardly know him."

"I can read people well," Tsareena explained. "And judging by what he did in the challenges we did together, he's not much of a fair player. Albeit, only a select few from your show even think about fairness. Think about it. Everyone views him as a threat, and he always has you around. Fire- and fighting-type, versus a water- and psychic-type in the finale would grant him an automatic victory."

Infernape hadn't thought about that. He hadn't really thought of Slowking in a negative light at all. But, what Tsareena said was making sense. What if Slowking was just keeping him close in order to take him out immediately in the finale?

After hearing him sigh, Tsareena knew that she either had him or he was still fine with Slowking. "What do I do, then?"

"When you guys get back to your own island, you need to get rid of him," Tsareena said. "Or at the very least, show him that you're not one to be taken advantage of. Try to assert yourself more."

"But, I think that'd be a bit, I dunno… weird for me."

"You'll be fine," Tsareena said, wrapping her arms around his.

Infernape's face flushed immediately.

 **000**

" **Hopefully he heeds my advice," Tsareena spoke. "Slowking, or anyone for that manner, could take advantage of him. He needs to show his individuality."**

 **000**

Dhelmise was watching the second battle between Lucario and Hakamo-o outside along with the other members of Victini's cast, excluding Shuckle and Charizard.

The pair had been battling for twenty entire minutes now, and neither seemed to be backing down an inch. Dhelmise just kept heckling them the entire time, much to almost everyone's enjoyment on the viewing side and the chagrin of the ladies.

"Come on, just punch her in the uterus! You know you want to get down there, anyway!" he chided.

This earned him both an Aura Sphere to the face, which promptly phased through him and hit Slowking, who was coming through the door.

"OW!" Slowking yelped, covering his face, from the blow. "What the hell?"

"Heh, sorry Royal Dunce," Dhelmise said. "Ghost-types…"

Slowking growled, before gaining an idea. "Uh, Dhelmise, do you mind if we had a quick chat?"

Dhelmise was surprised by this inquiry. On one hand, he wanted to keep verbally harassing the girls a bit more, but on the other hand he felt like testing his theory that everyone who spoke to him in private got eliminated. Since Slowking was from another cast, it'd be interesting to see the results when they went back to their island.

"Uh, why?"

"It's just a matter that I think you should be well aware of," Slowking said, getting the others' attention.

"I need specifics…" Dhelmise flatly stated.

"Just get in here!" Slowking demanded, getting agitated as he went back into the hotel.

Dhelmise groaned in agitation. "Don't you two lick each other or kiss or something while I'm in here! I need more material!"

 **-000-**

Slowking sat down in the chair in the lobby, with Dhelmise floating over to him. "Alright, what the hell do you want, shell head?"

"I have some information that I believe you'll find most useful and interesting…"

"Spit it out," Dhelmise drawled. "I have girl-on-girl action going on outside that I need to make fun of."

Slowking rolled his eyes. "It regards Tsareena-"

"That ditz? You automatically lose all credibility if you think you're gonna surprise me with any information about her," Dhelmise stated as he started floating back to the door.

"She's not as stupid as she makes herself out to be," Slowking said, swiftly getting onto his feet as Dhelmise started to leave.

The Sea Creeper Pokemon paused upon hearing that gen. He turned to Slowking, not willing to believe what he'd just been told.

"What the hell are you on about?" Dhelmise queried. "That dumb bitch has been dumb since she got here and probably since she was born. Now you're telling me she's not?"

"I've seen and heard it with my own eyes and ears," the Royal Pokemon replied. "In the last challenge, she decided to tell me about myself and how I was a 'bitch' for complaining about someone that doesn't have the same overall advantages as me getting to exploit theirs."

"But… you were," Dhelmise responded, causing Slowking to groan.

"No I wasn't! Physiology doesn't mean someone has the right to ignore the challenge!"

"Whatever," Dhelmise replied, waving away his comments. "You still expect me to believe that Tsareena is smart or something?"

"I am telling you the truth," Slowking replied. "Whether or not you decide to believe me is up to you. It'd be _your_ funeral…"

"I'm already dead, but I'd appreciate the flowers," Dhelmise responded flatly before turning back around to float outside. "Oh, and by the way, people who talk to me in private usually end up eliminated next, so… yeah. Have fun back on your island."

Slowking huffed and rolled his eyes.

 **000**

" **Tsareena?** _ **Smart?**_ **I don't know who that idiot thinks he's fooling, but it isn't me!" Dhelmise exclaimed.**

 **000**

Solgaleo stretched as he entered the kitchen. There, he saw Victini taking some Frosted Flakes from the cabinets with milk next to a cereal bowl. He chuckled as he approached the _nice_ Victory Pokemon.

"You know there's stuff other than just cereal here, right?" Solgaleo questioned.

"Yeah…" Victini replied, pouring milk into the bowl. "But, this is okay. I'm a simple guy."

Solgaleo chuckled.

"So, what challenge do you have for your guys today?" Victini asked.

"Oh, no. It's Lunala's call," Solgaleo explained. "Mondays are hers, remember."

"Oh right. You guys have that taking turns thing going on…" Victini recalled. "I bet you feel great…"

"Well, I would, if I didn't have to deal with _Entei_ ," the white lion shuddered upon mentioning the shisa's name. "Though it's better than having him try to do me while I'm asleep."

"Why is he so into you again?" Victini inquired.

Solgaleo groaned. "It was a bet. I had to fornicate with him because of it, and now he's freaking _obsessed!_ "

"Uh… and why was that an option in the bet to begin with?" Victini questioned, a bit concerned. "Isn't that a bit too… y'know?"

"Well, you don't really stay here, so I'm just gonna say this…" Solgaleo said. "Things are pretty fucked up around here. Not going into detail, just know that fact."

"Message received," Victini said, sweat dropping. "So, uh… what do you do for fun around here when the challenge is going on?"

"I need to sleep at or around six…" Solgaleo replied. "Me and Lunala get drained quickly. So, in the mornings, I don't do much of anything but watch TV in my room. Not very much to do around here other than hang out with each other, watch movies, or play video games."

"That doesn't really sound that bad…"

"Yeah, uh… you don't really know _everyone_ around here," Solgaleo explained. "Lots of similar and conflicting personalities can… eat at you, I'll say that."

Victini nodded. "Thirty-seven players. I know how it feels..."

Solgaleo nodded.

" _Hello~_ ," the two of them heard.

Upon hearing who it was, Solgaleo immediately started speed walking back toward his room while repeating 'No'. Entei chuckled and went after him, causing Victini to sigh. "I am _so_ glad I don't stay here."

 **000**

 **10 hours pass**

 **000**

Tepig yawned as he lied on the seventh floor, with a few others. "Jeez. How long do you guys _usually_ wait for challenges? It's almost 8 PM!"

Dhelmise, who was one of the only players from the Alola cast there, the other being Tsareena, grunted in response. "That's how it always is. Mondays we have challenges during the night time because Lunala hosts, and Friday is Solgaleo's."

"Uh… why?" Zorua queried. "That sounds… weird."

"Sleep intervals or some dumb stuff like that," Dhelmise grumbled. "So, we should be called down any minute now…"

"And then we get to watch you guys in action once again," Scrafty said with a sneer. "I'll be honest, seeing three hotties compete and watching from the sidelines is absolutely arousing…"

Umbreon scoffed. "Of course _you_ say that, jackass. I'd expect that from Tepig."

"Hey, it's not my fault the chicks here are much hotter than you girls and the ones we had…" Scrafty replied, pulling out a cigarette.

"Well, you'll see how dumb our challenges are and either be happy or glad that you're not in our metaphorical shoes…" Dhelmise replied. "And maybe you two will share similar opinions and pound it out in some bushes."

Umbreon and Scrafty exchanged looks of disgust.

"You're out of your mind," Umbreon scoffed. "No way is this dipshit my type."

"Back at you, junkie," Scrafty retorted.

Dhelmise chuckled.

 **000**

" **All way too easy," Dhelmise chuckled.**

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Lucario made it to the third floor to try and check on Lycanroc. After their battle, which ended in a tie, they ended up talking and hanging out for the remainder of the day. It was still pretty awkward for both of them, but they eventually were able to carry conversations, albeit they each ended quickly, but they still worked.

They went toward Lycanroc's door, where they saw Incineroar sitting against the wall to the right of the entrance. The large feline had a combined look of pure worry and aggravation etched his face; the scowl hardening his features.

Hakamo-o sighed upon seeing this and both she and Lucario approached him further. Feeling a presence, Incineroar turned his head toward the source and saw the two girls heading in his direction. He didn't show any real concern or care for either of them and just continued to sit there.

"Hey Incineroar," Hakamo-o greeted. "How are you doing?"

Incineroar didn't reply initially, he just gave her a look that told her ' how do you think?'. The Heel Pokemon rose up and popped his back before sitting right back down.

"Incineroar, come on…" Hakamo-o prodded. "You haven't talked to anyone since Friday. I know that you and Lycanroc have a connection, but I don't think she'd want you to give everyone the cold shoulder."

Incineroar continued to sit in silence for another minute or so, but eventually he huffed. "When did you start thinking about what Lycanroc would want?" he inquired.

Hakamo-o was taken aback by the question, almost even offended. She was Lycanroc's friend, why _wouldn't_ she think about what she'd want? "What do you mean by _that_?" she asked, her anger beginning to rise.

Lucario remained silent, not wanting to intervene.

Incineroar forced a chortle, rising to his feet once again. "We _both_ hang out with Lycanroc on almost a daily basis, but not once have I seen you show actual care about something other than this fucking competition! And Friday to today doesn't count."

"What?!" Hakamo-o growled, baring her teeth. "Of course I fucking care about Lycanroc! She's one of my only fucking friends here!"

"Okay, and where have you been?" Incineroar asked condescendingly. "If you fucking cared, you'd be up here with me waiting for her to come out!"

Hakamo-o scoffed. "For your information, she _did_ come out!" she finally blustered. "She was downstairs this morning so she could get something to eat!"

Incineroar froze, surprised to hear that. "W-What?"

He turned to the door, which didn't look like it was even opened. He hadn't even heard anything!

"Yeah, she came down and I was completely worried!" Hakamo-o growled. "Meanwhile, it seems like you didn't even know, so what happened to _you_?"

Incineroar snarled, but before he could retort, Lunala's voice blared over the intercoms.

"CONTESTANTS! MEET ME IN THE MAIN LOBBY FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!" the lunar bat bellowed. "THAT GOES FOR VICTINI'S CAST AS WELL!"

"Us?" Lucario questioned in confusion. "Why do we have to go down?"

"Maybe Victini wanted you all to watch us or something," Hakamo-o assumed. She turned her attention back to Incineroar, who had his arms folding, glowering at her. She returned the hateful glance just as the twisting of Lycanroc's doorknob was heard. They turned their attention to the door as it opened.

The red wolf exited the room, her scar showing. She wasn't surprised at seeing Hakamo-o and Incineroar there, but Lucario was a bit surprising.

"Hey guys," she greeted softly, folding her arms while avoiding eye contact momentarily.

"Lycanroc…" Incineroar said, his voice barely above a whisper. He squatted down and investigated the scar. It wasn't that deep, having been given time to heal a bit, but it still looked pretty bad. Incineroar growled and his head jerked to Lucario, surprising her. "You guys had better get rid of that piece of shit as soon as you finish a fucking challenge!"

Lucario understood his request and nodded. "We'll try."

Hakamo-o walked over and rubbed Lycanroc's stomach and chest. The wolf sighed at this; this was exactly what she _didn't_ want.

"Guys…" she moaned. "I don't want any pity or concern. _Please_."

"But, you didn't deserve what happened!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Haka… _please_ ," Lycanroc replied. "I-I can take care of myself. No need for you guys to worry."

"Yes there is, yo-"

"Let's just head downstairs and do the challenge," Lycanroc insisted. "Just… ignore it. I'm fine. Okay?"

And with that, she headed down the hallway to the elevators. Lucario followed, leaving Incineroar and Hakamo-o. The two of them exchanged glances, their minor feud culminating within seconds of Lycanroc's emergence. Their gazes changed from being livid toward each other, to exemplifying their worry for their friend.

 **000**

" **It doesn't make sense. If she's telling us not to worry, then why was she in her room the entire time earlier like it was a big deal?" Hakamo-o questioned. "It just doesn't make sense. Though, I see why she was wearing the towel this morning…"**

 **000**

" **Charizard… will… pay," Incineroar growled.**

 **000**

Everyone made it to the main lobby. All of the players made it down to the lobby; the cast of Alola stepped forward, while Victini's cast was simply confused about why they had to be down there. They were supposed to be on vacation, after all.

"Greetings final five. Congratulations on making it this far," Lunala greeted. "I hope you all have been treating Victini's cast well…"

The five of them exchanged glances before looking back to Lunala, who simply sighed. "Okay, let's just get to the next challenge. Let's head to Ula'Ula Island!"

"Wait, why are _we_ here?" Slowking inquired. "This is our vacation time, is it not?"

"Yes, but based on what happens, one of you will gain a reward that will be advantageous when you get back to your island," Lunala explained.

Hearing that, Victini's final ten immediately grew interested. Sure, this was supposed to be their break time, but the temptation of a reward that could help them out was too good to resist.

"Now, let's get to Ula'Ula," Lunala started. "Specifically, Mount Hokulani…"

Lunala spread her wings and her body glowed before all fifteen teenagers were teleported away.

 **000**

The contestants were teleported to the base of the the mountain on Route 10, the starry sky illuminating the vicinity. The pathway leading up the mountain had numerous curves, as well as extra land on the sides. The rocky terrain seemed to be safe, but looks could be deceiving. The only things that seemed to be in place to prevent people from falling off of the edges were old, rusty-looking rails that seemed to be ready to crumble and fall at any moment.

"Welcome to your first challenge of the day," Lunala introduced. "As you can see, we are at the base of Mount Hokulani, the second tallest mountain in Alola."

"We don't need a geography lesson," Dhelmise drawled. "We all live in the region; we know what this place is. Just move on with it."

Lunala blinked, a look of annoyance etched on her face. She took a breath. " _Calm yourself Lunala. Just ignore his bullshit_ ," she told herself in her head. " _Anyways_..."

"Before I tell you the challenge, I would just the five of you to know that there will _not_ be an elimination tonight," Lunala explained. "This is purely a reward challenge."

Hakamo-o and Incineroar both growled, both of them were hoping that they would be able to get rid of Dhelmise and be rid of his annoying presence once and for all. Dhelmise only chortled at their disappointment, while neither Lycanroc nor Tsareena seemed to be bothered.

Hakamo-o huffed, folding her arms in vexation. "Well if this is a non-elimination challenge, this fucking reward had better be good," the Scaly Pokemon stated boldly.

"How does automatic admittance into the final three sound?" Lunala questioned rhetorically with a smile, immediately causing the final five, as well as Victini's cast, to exchange and express looks awe and surprise.

"Wait, so if we win this challenge, we're automatically in the final three?" Incineroar inquired, still in awe and having disbelief. "No funny business. Are you being one-hundred percent truthful?"

"Yes," Lunala responded. "Automatic admittance, which means that for the next however many challenges we have until the final three, you are exempt from the challenge. However, if there is a reward involved in another challenge, you will still be able to compete if you wish to."

"Wait, does this go for us, too?!" Charizard asked eagerly.

Immediately, Hakamo-o and Incineroar turned and snarled at him, causing him to back away slightly.

"To answer your question, Charizard, no it does not," Lunala replied. "Also, only half of you will be able to compete for a chance for the reward."

The ten of them exchanged competitive looks.

"And how do we figure out who goes?" Slowking asked.

"Well, it'll be up to these guys of course," Lunala revealed, gesturing to her cast. "They each will be allowed to choose a _partner_ that'll help them out in the challenges."

Upon hearing that revelation, the Alola cast grew either excited that they had help or annoyed that they had to team up with someone from the opposite cast and possibly have them be in the way.

"Now, before you choose your partner, allow me to explain the challenge," Lunala explained as she cleared her throat. "This challenge will revolve around Minior."

"Minior?" Lycanroc inquired.

"Yes, _Minior_ ," Lunala repeated. "Not only is your goal to make it up the mountain, you must find _three_ Minior of different colors!"

"What?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "You realize that we're gonna be up there possibly _all night_ , right?! Minior blow themselves up and it's difficult to find different colors!"

"Which is the reason that you get to choose help and why this challenge is an instant ticket to the final three," Lunala expounded. "So now that you know your challenge...who're you going to bring with you in the challenge?"

Dhelmise, Incineroar, Hakamo-o, and Lycanroc turned to face the ten from Victini's cast, while Tsareena continued staring forward.

"Well, I call dibs on going first, so… Zorua," Dhelmise said confidently, causing Tepig to gape in shock.

"What the hell mate?!" Tepig squealed. "I chose you for our team last time we had a challenge. And we had some good times!"

"Uh, yeah, no," Dhelmise replied. "First off, you chose _Lycanroc_ , and _I_ had to come to _you_. Secondly, a pure fire-type versus a rock- and flying-type. That's a _great_ idea. Thirdly… so?"

Tepig grumbled to himself, while Zorua smiled to herself.

"I guess I'll take… Gallade," Incineroar said with a shrug. The Blade Pokemon nodded in thanks.

"I'll do Lucario," Hakamo-o said, her arms folded. The Aura Pokemon smirked.

"Oh, you'll _do_ her, huh?" Dhelmise teased, insulting the way Hakamo-o worded it.

Both girls blushed and glared at the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

"Uh…" Lycanroc started, looking over the remaining seven. The wisest choice would be Slowking, as he was a water- _and_ psychic-type, which would be completely useful in the challenge, but she wanted to talk to Umbreon a bit more. But then, thinking about it, they were still here until Friday, so she should be able to talk to her at any time. "Slowking…"

Slowking was surprised that Lycanroc chose him, as were a fair amount of the others, though some of them understood where she was coming from.

Upon hearing his name be called, Tsareena's eyes widened. She growled to herself. She wouldn't reveal herself just yet. She just had to keep the facade going until it was a good time. And since this was a non-elimination challenge, she needed to just keep on playing dumb.

"Okay," Lycanroc nudged her. "Your turn to choose, Tsareena."

"Ugh," the Fruit Pokemon heard, the gruff voice being easily discernable.

"Just stick her with Infernape. It's obvious that dumb and dumb should team up and fail," Dhelmise affronted.

"Tsareena's not dumb and I'm not dumb!" Infernape bellowed. "And we'll prove it in the challenge, Dhel….mean guy!"

"Oh no… my self-esteem has suddenly plummeted by your lame words. Whatever shall I do?" Dhelmise sarcastically jeered. "Please. First Slowking tells me she's not dumb and now you're defending it? Pathetic…"

Tsareena, having heard that, continued staring into space, though on the inside, she was both angry and amused.

 **000**

" **So…" Tsareena said, sitting with one leg over the other. "Slowking thought that telling** _ **Dhelmise**_ **about me being intelligent would bring him help?** _ **Dhelmise**_ **. He's only proving my point."**

" **And I'll make sure that Infernape and I win this challenge," she continued. "Although...if people see me actually doing well, they'll know something's up…"**

 **She sighed. "This may be a bit more difficult than I imagined."**

 **000**

"Alright, the five players have been chosen. So, the rest of you are free to either stay here and watch or got back to the hotel," Lunala said, eyeing the disgruntled cast members from Victini's show. "So, who's going to do what?"

"I'd rather go back to the hotel and watch TV than wait around here," Scrafty stated, folding his arms.

"Same here," Umbreon stated, which garnered a mocking 'Awww', from Dhelmise. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going back to the hotel, too," Charizard said, eyeing the two of them. "I'll make sure these two don't fuck up the place…"

"Oh joy, more possible police brutality," Hakamo-o commented. "Only this time it won't be on main camera."

Charizard lowered his eyes, ignoring her comment.

"I just wanna go back to sleep," Shuckle drawled, still upset that he was completely alone now.

"Well I'll stay!" Tepig squealed. "I love me some action. And since Minior can explode, it'll be fun to watch!"

"Alright, one stay, four go, got it," Lunala said as her body and eyes glowed. Blue light enveloped Scrafty, Umbreon, Charizard, and Shuckle before they vanished from view.

The illumination from Lunala faded away and she faced the ten that would be competing in the challenge. "Alright, let's get you guys' challenge started."

 **000**

Each pair was facing forward, ready to rush up the mountain and begin the challenge. However, this is excluding Tsareena, who was just standing upright without a care.

"Alright, remember. Three different colored Minior," Lunala reminded. "Your challenge may begin in three… two… one… START!"

Instantly, each team started rushing up the mountain, with Tsareena being the only one left standing at the base. Lunala groaned, while Tepig chortled out loud.

Seconds later, Infernape rushed back down, grabbing Tsareena by her hand and pulling her forward.

 **-000-**

Due to them being further back, Tsareena sighed in relief. "Infernape. You can let go of me, now," Tsareena notified, feeling the ape's firm, but gentle grip around her arm.

Hearing that, Infernape stopped in his tracks and immediately let her go. Tsareena pat his cheeks softly in thanks at the quick response. "Alright, so we need three Minior… that… shouldn't be that hard," she said, beginning to walk forward.

At this point, Infernape was a bit perplexed and agitated, something he barely felt. Tsareena realized that Infernape wasn't his usual peppy self at the moment, which was both a good sign and a bad sign. She stopped as the Flame Pokemon trailed behind her.

"Are you okay?" Tsareena queried, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Infernape let out a sigh. "I guess I was just thinking about what you said earlier. About Slowking… and Dhelmise constantly calling you dumb is starting to bother me. You're not stupid and _I'm_ not stupid."

"Well, you can never be too careful," Tsareena said, grabbing his hand. "You have to be independent. So, let's try to win this challenge and get you that advantage for your show, huh? What do you say?"

Infernape smiled softly before a frown spread across his face, softening his features. "Can I ask you something?" he inquired as he and Tsareena continued walking.

"Sure," Tsareena hastily obliged as they came across a path that was exposed by the sudden curving of the railings. There was an open section of the mountain just ripe for the searching.

"Why do you act dumb and let people say bad things about you?" Infernape inquired as they turned into the platform.

Tsareena looked to him and giggled a bit. "It's simple, my dear," she started. "I don't _always_ act like this. I only act this way to see how others would treat someone with possible mental disabilities or who is completely lost in the world. It's sad to say, but this is just showing me how they'd treat someone who is less fortunate or intelligent."

"It _is_ sad," Infernape replied. "Lycanroc seemed to be the only one who seemed to care enough to try and help in some way, even if was small."

Tsareena nodded. "Which is why she is the only one with my respect as of now. Now, let's find those Minior..."

Infernape nodded. "Right."

 **000**

Gallade and Incineroar had already found a good platform area to search, the flat surface having tall grass all around it. There weren't any specific details given by Lunala regarding how they were going to be able to capture the Minior or where the Minior would be, so they were a bit stumped.

"How the hell are we supposed to find Minior up here?" Incineroar queried to himself, hands on his hips as he looked around the section of the mountain they were on. "We don't know if they're a rare occurrence at the moment or if they were paid or something."

Gallade only shrugged. "Maybe it'll be up to just luck."

"Aren't you part psychic-type?" Incineroar brought up. "You can tell where they are or at least sense if they're around, right?"

"Never tried, so probably not," Gallade replied.

Incineroar groaned. "Well, I'm probably figuratively fucked."

"The challenge _literally_ just started," Gallade replied upon hearing that. The tiger was seriously complaining mere minutes after the challenge's initiation. "Isn't it a bit too early to be saying that? There's an entire mountain to search."

Incineroar huffed in response before holding his head. "I always do that," he moaned flatly. "I like getting things done quickly…"

"Yeah, I know. I could tell from the previous challenge," Gallade drawled. "So, how about you _not_ complain right now and we actually try to search for them?"

Incineroar lowered his eyes; apparently Gallade was more social around him, as he was viewed as antisocial and boring around others. Frankly, Incineroar was beginning to think that he should have chosen someone else, especially due to the fact that Gallade was a psychic-type who barely knew how to use his psychic abilities. "Fine…" he tonelessly replied.

They started looking around the area of the mountain, walking through the grass. The two had searched high and low, in cracks and crevices, and also in the air to see if any were flying aimlessly.

As they searched around, they were very silent. One could even hear the numerous other conversations that were going on between the other players. Wanting to break the silence, Incineroar cleared his throat. "So uh, what brought you to sign up for Victini's show?"

"Personal business," Gallade responded vaguely, not facing to look at the tiger.

Seeing and hearing this, Incineroar groaned in his head. "Oh, that's nice," he spoke flatly before going back to searching.

He expected Gallade to reciprocate the question; when he didn't, he just decided to keep looking as to not waste his time.

 **000**

" **Maybe I should have chosen Shuckle or something. At least we would be able to get more conversation in!" Incineroar bellowed.**

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Lucario, being who they were, were already more than halfway up the mountain, passing by numerous areas that they could have searched, in order to be closer to the top of the mountain.

Eventually, they slowed themselves down and came upon an open area branching off of the main path. Both of them panted as they eyed the mountainous area, the darkness calling to them, as there was a chance that a Minior was there.

"What do you think?" Hakamo-o questioned, folding her arms as she faced Lucario.

"There's a good chance that there's a Minior there, but the amount of light we'd have would be limited," Lucario said. Hakamo-o walked toward the area despite Lucario's analysis of it.

"Light or no light, as long as we don't fall off, we should be fine," Hakamo-o said.

Lucario watched her, her eyes slowly drifting down to Hakamo-o's behind. She flushed furiously, covering her eyes. " _You have a fucking boyfriend!"_

"Hey, you okay over there?" Hakamo-o inquired, seeing her jackal friend covering her face. It seemed that got her back into gear, as she removed her paws from her face and came over to the area.

Hakamo-o, despite never having a relationship, knew the signs of someone liking her, Passimian being a good example. Ever since Friday, Lucario had been acting weird around her, and the 'raging dyke' comment that Umbreon made when they first got there gave her the reason why.

Honestly, even if she wouldn't admit it to anyone, Hakamo-o had found herself growing attracted to Lucario. She was strong, smart, independent, they had the same kinds of social issues, and well, she was _fit_. She hardly ever showed any of the signs other than when others pointed it out, in which she would just blush and growl. She wasn't that much of a chaser, but she saw that Lucario was still being awkward.

She wasn't that good with attraction or relationship talk, but she was going to try to get Lucario more comfortable or, at the very least, figure out a way to make things work for the both of them.

"Hey, Lucario," the Scaly Pokemon started, getting the jackal's attention. "Uh… I can't help but notice that you've been acting… _weird_ ever since we battled for the first time on Friday."

Lucario feigned ignorance, though her blush quickly exposed her. "W-What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Hakamo-o replied, folding her arms. "You're blushing."

Lucario growled. " _Damn blood flow…"_ she thought to herself.

She sighed. "Okay, I kinda admit… I think you're… uh… you're…" the Aura Pokemon couldn't explain how she felt, she just growled, clenching her fists. "You're… ugh, fuck my life."

"Uh, it's okay, I think," Hakamo-o said. "At least I know that you… _like_ me in a sense. And, I'm fine with that because, uh… well…"

Lucario blushed, rubbing her arm.

"I uh… I think I _l-like_ you, too," Hakamo-o said, her voice sounding strangled. This was the first time, as far as she could remember, that she said that to someone, so she felt extremely weird after finally uttering those words. By the end of it, the usually hardy dragon- and fighting-type was blushing, her eyes locked with Lucario's.

Lucario let out a huff. "Well, I don't know where to go from here," she admitted.

Hakamo-o grumbled to herself. "Let's just find these Minior and try and win th-"

Hakamo-o was suddenly cut off by Lucario kissing her. It was very very brief, with Lucario moving away, leaving Hakamo-o surprised. There was an extremely awkward silence between the two after that occurred.

"U-Uh… so how about this challenge?" Hakamo-o questioned sheepishly, turning around as she started yanking up grass and looking over the edge of the mountain.

Lucario didn't respond, not knowing what to say or why the hell she thought that doing that was a good idea. She just decided to slowly move away and search another area. Not only would she have time to think, they'd cover more ground.

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o was sitting in the confessional blushing, her expression telling us that she has no idea how to feel.**

 **000**

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so rude and jerky towards everyone?" Zorua inquired. "It's just, it makes you an easy target whenever voting is involved."

"These idiots had ample opportunity to vote me off," Dhelmise replied as he heard a whirring sound nearby. He and Zorua were still on the path, heading up, so he began looking around. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear wha-" Zorua started before the whirring sound happened again. "Wait…"

"Yeah, _that_ sound," Dhelmise expressed, looking down at her with his lack of a face after seeing her reaction. "I think that's a Minior."

"Minior sound like _that_?" Zorua asked as the noise persisted. "That's weird…"

"It's flying meteor. Of course it's weird!" Dhelmise shot back. "Now, we need to find out where the hell it is and catch it before one of these other morons do."

The two of them looked around in the starry sky, the darkness making it hard to see anything. Minior, being a mostly brown Pokemon in its shell, was going to be difficult to identify if it was flying.

"Ugh...this challenge should've been done in daytime," Dhelmise groaned. "We won't be able to see those little shits!"

"Hmm," Zorua started thinking. "Maybe I can transform into a Minior…"

"That'd work just fine," Dhelmise laughed. "Maybe I'll end up losing you, too…"

Zorua gave him a look. After dealing with Tepig for the duration of their show, Zorua was relatively unfazed.

"You never answered my question," Zorua reminded. "Why act like a jackass?"

"Because it's fun," Dhelmise said flatly. "Now, shift."

Zorua scoffed, rolling her eyes as she did a backflip, changing into a Minior.

"Okay, now fly up and try to lure some Minior toward us," Dhelmise instructed. Zorua-Minior flew upwards, only to be blasted by a ball of water, causing her to fall back to the ground.

"What the hell?!" Dhelmise exclaimed in confusion. He then looked over and noticed Slowking and Lycanroc rushing up.

 **000**

Lycanroc and Slowking came rushing up the mountain path, as Slowking had identified a Minior, or what he thought was one, higher up the path.

He ended up firing a Water Pulse at the presumed rock- and flying-type, and now he and Lycanroc were on their way to claim it before somebody else did.

When they made it up, they saw that there was no Minior around, and Dhelmise was floating there as Zorua shook water out of her fur.

"What the hell was that!?" Zorua bellowed angrily, glowering at Dhelmise.

"Ask those two," Dhelmise said, acknowledging the Royal and Wolf Pokemon as they came into view.

"Ask us what?" Lycanroc asked in confusion. "And… did you guys see a Minior around here? Slowking just shot one down with Water Pulse."

"Yeah, that was ME!" Zorua exclaimed.

Slowking sighed, clicking his tongue while folding his arms. "Using the same tactic as last challenge won't work out well for you this time, Zorua," the Royal Pokemon advised. "You'll end up being mistaken for a real one."

"That's the point, dumbass! She was going to lure some Minior to us so we can go ahead and get this challenge over with!" Dhelmise retorted.

"Well look how that turned out for you," Slowking taunted. "Anyway, if you don't mind, Lycanroc and I have a challenge to win. Come Lycanroc…"

Slowking continued walking forward, Zorua's eyes, and Dhelmise's entire body, following suit. They turned back to Lycanroc, who rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Sorry guys," she apologized as she rushed after Slowking, leaving the two to try again.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc was able to catch up to Slowking, who was walking at a reasonable pace. She was perplexed by his decision to not use his psychic-type abilities to help them out. It was the main reason that she chose him!

"Slowking, why are you not using your psychic-type abilities?" Lycanroc responded. "It'd make everything much easier."

"Because, I would like to show these people that I am capable of handling myself without psychic assistance," Slowking explained. "It's to just prove myself. I don't want anyone to bitch to me about how I was unfair and blah blah blah…"

Suddenly, a whirring sound was heard by them as they continued up. They stopped and started looking around in the air. Lycanroc squinted her eyes and identified something spinning and flying through the air.

"I see one!" the wolf barked, pointing up in the air.

Slowking looked up saw the faint outline of a Minior. Being that it was away from the mountain and practically over in the distance, Slowking had to use his psychic abilities. His independence not lasting that long.

With a sigh, he grabbed the Meteor Pokemon via kinesis, bringing it to himself and Lycanroc.

"I thought you weren't using your psychic abilities…" Lycanroc said teasingly, hand on her hip.

"Yeah, it didn't last long, did it?" Slowking replied rhetorically as the Minior was brought directly before him. He charged up an orb of water, firing it at the meteor and knocking it out.

Its rock shield crumbled, exposing its core, which was a bright yellow.

Lycanroc smiled. "Yes! Okay, so we don't need another yellow one."

"That's if we can find them," said Slowking. "I'll use my psychic abilities to round them up and keep them in place, but to find them, it'll be up to wherever they are."

Lycanroc sighed.

 **000**

Tsareena and Infernape had managed to wrangle a Minior that was wedged in a crevice. Upon cracking its shell, it was revealed to have a violet core.

"Okay, so this means if we find another violet one, we leave it alone," Tsareena said, getting on her feet. "I think you'll have to carry it since Lunala didn't give us anything to keep these guys in check."

"Uh, well, I think I can keep it steady. It's knocked out anyway," Infernape said, standing up with the unconscious rock in his arms.

As the two continued walking again, Infernape felt like he and Tsareena could start talking a bit more and maybe… become something. He didn't know how she'd _really_ feel about the situation, but he was hoping that she'd accept his offer.

"Uh… Ts-Tsareena?" the ape began.

"Hmm?" the Fruit Pokemon inquired, turning to face him as they continued walking.

"Um, I hope that you don't think this is too sudden, but…" he started, blushing. "Would you… like to go out with me?"

Tsareena raised a brow. She knew that he had an attraction to her, and she somewhat had an attraction him, but how would things even work if they were on different shows? Long distance relationships hardly ever work.

"Uh… well, I'm flattered by your offer, Infernape," Tsareena replied, rubbing his cheek. " You're a very handsome specimen, but I don't believe that it'll work out. We're on two different shows and we live in two different regions most likely. Where would the relationship go when you leave?"

"I mean, I could try and come back down here for you!" Infernape exclaimed.

Tsareena blushed. "I don't want you to just up and leave your home for me," she expressed. "Also, don't you think that forming a relationship after three days of knowing someone is a bit too fast?"

Infernape looked down and let out a saddened sigh. "Yes, I understand. But, we can still hang out and talk and stuff, right?"

Tsareena smiled. "Of course," she said, kissing his cheek.

Infernape blushed as another Minior was heard. "Wait… I think there's another Minior somewhere!"

"Well, let's get looking, then," Tsareena replied as they approached another mountainous platform.

 **000**

"So, uh… how does being gay feel?" Gallade inquired suddenly after nearly twenty-seven whole minutes of silence. He and Incineroar still hadn't found any Minior; they kept hearing the celestial cries of the Meteor Pokemon, but they could never figure out where they were due to the darkness.

Incineroar had to resort to using his flame belt to illuminate their way. Upon receiving the question, Incineroar blushed. "Uh, could you elaborate on that a bit?"

"I'm uh… not sure how to," Gallade replied. "I thought it was pretty straightforward."

Incineroar groaned in his head. Why was this guy so difficult? It felt much easier to deal with him on Friday. He took a deep breath. "It feels like being a normal person," he answered flatly.

"Oh, that's nice," Gallade replied, relatively unfazed by the tiger's tone.

Incineroar blinked before walking away. "...Come on, we need to look somewh-"

"Found one," Gallade said, smashing into the ground. He picked up a Minior, which immediately tried to escape him.

The Blade Pokemon punched it, causing its shell to crack, revealing its core to be blue. Incineroar raised a brow.

"Well, _that's_ good," Incineroar replied. "Now we just need two more. _And hopefully we find them soon…_ "

"So, if you're gay, uh…" Gallade started, causing Incineroar to groan in his head. "Have you found anybody?"

"...Yes…" Incineroar flatly replied. "Now, come on. We need to find more of these Minior so this awkwardness can end."

Gallade shrugged before following the tiger. The two of them got back on the curving path, and as soon as they did, Incineroar spied a single Minior flying in place. His eyes widened. "Yes!"

Two more Minior slowly spin-flew toward the first one, making him smile like mad. "Finally, it can end!" he exclaimed. "Come on!" he exclaimed as he ran up the path, with Gallade trailing behind.

 **000**

Hakamo-o had found a Minior inside of a hole in the ground, having to call Lucario over to let her know. All the while, thoughts ran through the dragon- and fighting-type's head due to the kiss Lucario planted on her lips.

She was unsure how to feel about it. She didn't know what to do in response or anything, since Lucario apparently had a boyfriend. But, then why'd she kiss her? It was just starting to eat at her now, but she really needed to focus on the challenge. She wanted to win and get to the final three. And even if she didn't end up winning, as long as Dhelmise didn't win either, she'd be fine.

The Minior that she found had an indigo core, causing her to become a bit more calm. "Just two more and we'll be fine…"

"Well, I sense that there are at least five or six of them currently down the mountain," Lucario said, pointing a finger down the mountain path.

"Fuuuuu-" Hakamo-o groaned as she walked over and stood next to Lucario. "Come on, we have to get down there before the others get them!"

Lucario nodded as the two of them rushed down the mountain.

 **000**

Dhelmise and Zorua had successfully lured numerous Minior with their plan. Dhelmise used Power Whip, which knocked them all to the ground and cracked their shells. Much to their annoyance, three of them were red and the other two were green.

"Wooow… great. Just great," Dhelmise groaned as Zorua turned back into her normal form. "I was hoping that we'd get three colors off the bat…"

"Well, two out of three isn't that bad," Zorua said, sniffing at the unconscious rocks.

"Eh, I guess we'll have to steal someone else's if they have a different color," Dhelmise assumed, levitating two of the Minior.

Luckily, or unluckily, for them, before they could just go forward, Hakamo-o and Lucario came down and stopped them. Seeing that they had an indigo core, Dhelmise non-visibly grinned.

"Well well well, look at what we've got here, Zorua, our final Minior…" Dhelmise said, eyeing the Minior in Hakamo-o's arms.

"Ha!" Hakamo-o laughed. "You're joking, you dumbass, step aside, we have a challenge to win…"

"No, I'm afraid that you won't be winning anything," Dhelmise said, as the Minior in Hakamo-o's arms started glowing and being lifted from her arms.

"YOU FUCK!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, holding the Minior tight.

Suddenly, Dhelmise was struck from behind by a purple blade. "OW!"

He turned around, dropping the Minior, much to Hakamo-o's enjoyment. Incineroar and Gallade had made it up the mountain, picking up the remaining green Minior and one of the red ones.

"Out of the way!" Incineroar exclaimed as he and Gallade ran up past them. Incineroar had two of the Minior, while Gallade had one of them.

Dhelmise fired a Shadow Ball at Gallade, knocking him to the ground. Zorua blinked.

"Hey!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "That's not fair!"

"Oh please, Lunala didn't say that sabotage _wasn't_ allowed, so fuck off with your fairness," Dhelmise growled.

Immediately, Incineroar blasted a Flamethrower at Dhelmise, who immediately dodged it as Gallade got back onto his feet.

Dhelmise growled as he picked up Gallade and threw him into Incineroar, causing him to drop their Minior, who immediately started flying away.

"NO!" the tiger roared. "DHELMISE! I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!"

"You can try and you won't succeed, Gay Tony," Dhelmise mocked. "

Lucario and Hakamo-o had headed down toward the final red Minior, which seemed to be getting back in the air. Lucario fired an Aura Sphere at it, knocking it back to the ground with ease.

"Nice work, Luca," Hakamo-o complimented as they got toward it and picked it up. "That's two, and we maybe we should-"

The two were immediately hit by two Shadow Balls, nearly knocking them off of the mountain. "My apologies, but you seem to forget what I said. _We_ have a challenge to win," Dhelmise said, floating back down the mountain to retrieve the indigo Minior.

Zorua had just remained silent, feeling a bit unsure about what Dhelmise was doing. She wasn't expecting him to really attack anyone.

"Fuck you, Dhelmise!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she got back on her feet and ran up after him, only for he and Zorua to vanish.

 **000**

Lycanroc and Slowking had met up with Tsareena and Infernape. They each had two Minior of their own and were walking up together. On their way up, they saw Lucario getting onto her feet before picking up a red Minior. Hakamo-o was nearby, folding her arms with a look of agitation on her face.

"Hey guys!" Lycanroc greeted upon seeing the two.

"Hi," they both drawled as they finally approached.

Hearing the glumness in their voices, Lycanroc grew worried. "What's the matter?"

"Dhelmise just took our other fucking Minior!" Hakamo-o growled. "Then the bastard teleported away. We were practically Slowking'd for the second challenge in a row!"

"Hey! I apologized for that!"

"But it still happened, now didn't it?" Lucario rhetorically questioned with a glare.

Slowking let out a sigh of agitation.

"AND WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! EVERYONE HEAD ON UP THE MOUNTAIN!"

Tsareena was screaming in her head, while Hakamo-o had her fists clenched in anger.

 **000**

" **FUCK YOU DHELMISE!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "FUCK YOU!"**

 **000**

 **Tsareena's right leg was palpitating in agitation. "Okay, how the HELL did Lunala just allow Dhelmise to sabotage and steal? She hates him!"**

 **000**

Everyone made their way to the top of the mountain, where Dhelmise was confidently floating there, and Zorua had an indifferent expression.

"As much as I hate to announce this… Dhelmise and Zorua win the challenge! Meaning…" she took a sigh of disappointment. "He's immune until we are down to the final three players, which he is now apart of."

"You're damn right I am!" Dhelmise jeered. "I'm gonna enjoy watching you losers go through their bullshit."

"As for you, Zorua, Victini will fill you in on your reward when you return back to your own island," Lunala explained.

The Illusion Fox only nodded as Tepig nudged her and gave her a high paw.

"Why the hell did you allow attacking and sabotage!?" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "You fucking hate him! Can't you just give it to someone else!?"

"Don't get all butthurt that you lost," Tepig spoke up with a chortle. "The Sheila didn't say anything about it…"

"Exactly," Dhelmise said. "She was dumb enough to not mention anything regarding sabotage, so she has to deal with it. Plus, you got to spend quality time with your girlfriend. You should be happy."

Both girls growled at him.

Lunala wanted to end the Sea Creeper for calling her dumb, but she took a deep breath. " _Stay professional Lunala… just stay professional_."

"Okay, now that this challenge is over and the winners have been figured out, let's get you guys back to the hotel so that I can get to the hall and take some headache medication..."

The ten contestants were teleported back to the hotel, with Lunala letting out an agitated screech.

 **000**

" **Looks like I'm safe for as long as they say so," Dhelmise laughed. "These losers make it so easy! Incineroar tried to run up and blast me before we got up, but… he failed miserably."**

" **This is going to be a fun next few weeks."**

 **000**

Hakamo-o punched the wall in her room, where Lucario, incineroar, and Lycanroc were with her. The punch created a small dent. "I can't fucking believe this!"

"That bastard gets to continuously fuck us over and gets away with it!" Incineroar roared. "This fucking sucks!"

"Well, I honestly don't mind, personally. I mean, I don't like what he does, but if it was technically allowed-"

"Lycanroc, come on! He's just fucking with all of us!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "I don't think he even cares about this game!"

"It's pretty obvious," Incineroar added, folding his arms as he hugged Lycanroc, who giggled.

Hakamo-o was pacing back and forth before sitting next to Lucario, who sat there awkwardly. "Uh… maybe you'll be able to make it far and kick his ass with whoever else is there."

"Pfft, I hope," Hakamo-o replied. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened during the challenge. Since Lucario was already there, now would be the time to talk about it.

"Um… Lycanroc, Incineroar, can… Lucario and I have some privacy?"

"Oooh~," Lycanroc teased. "Did something happen while I was pulling myself together?"

Almost as soon as she said that, what Pyukumuku told her before he left replayed in her head. She kept her cheerful demeanor, but her tone turned noticeably somber. "Uh, you know what? It's none of my business, uh. I have to talk to Incineroar about something anyway…"

Incineroar was surprised to hear that. "Oh, you do?"

"Yeah… I do," she said as she got to her feet and headed to Hakamo-o's door without uttering another word.

Incineroar and Hakamo-o exchanged worried glances before Incineroar got up to follow her, leaving Hakamo-o and Lucario alone.

Once they were out, Hakamo-o let out a sigh, rubbing her legs. "Okay. What is this?" she asked outright.

"What is what?"

" _This. Us_ ," Hakamo-o said, pointed to them both. "I mean, I guess we both have some sort of attraction to each other, but… don't you have a boyfriend?"

Lucario sighed. "Yes. But, like I said… I don't know if he's really a smokescreen or not. It's just… weird."

"Well then... why kiss me?" Hakamo-o asked.

"I-I don't know," Lucario said, staring down at the carpet. "I guess it was an impulse thing. I'm still just not… ugh… I hate talking about feelings!"

"So do I! But, we have some kind of connection or something and I'm not sure what we can do so that we aren't as awkward and weird toward each other!" Hakamo-o replied. "We could avoid each other, but that doesn't sit well with me…"

"Yeah…" Lucario said before sighing.

The two of them sat in silence for a while.

Lucario sighed. "I think I'll break up with my boyfriend and… when we're both out of this competition, I'll call you?"

Lucario then planted another kiss on Hakamo-o's lips. After hearing what she'd said, the dragon-type accepted it before breaking it. Both she and Lucario blushed and sat there for a few more seconds. "Uh, well… uh, I'll just head to my room, and I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

Hakamo-o nodded in response. Hearing her door open and close, Hakamo-o laid back on her bed.

 **000**

" **Well, I-uh… I guess I have a future girlfriend now," Hakamo-o said sheepishly while blushing, rubbing the back of her head. "I'll admit. I didn't expect anything like this going into this game. But, I'm happy that I came. Even** _ **if**_ **Dhelmise is a thorn in my side."**

 **000**

Lycanroc was wiping a few tears from her eyes, as she had just told Incineroar about her younger life and why she was so heavily affected by what happened in Diglett's Tunnel. He was extremely furious at Lycanroc's father, but he knew that getting angry wouldn't do anything. Now he was much more confused about her whole demeanor.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Incineroar asked, hugging her in his lap, rubbing her back.

"I hate pity," she replied. "And I didn't want to think about it, so I erased it from my mind before I got here."

"And that bastard Charizard caused it come back up," Incineroar seethed.

"Incineroar will you stop?" Lycanroc asked. "Charizard doesn't know me and I'm sure that he didn't mean to hurt me. What he did was wrong and he deserved to go, but what happened happened. Can you please just let it go? I'm okay."

Incineroar growled to himself before Lycanroc rested her head on his. " _Please_ ," she said, looking him in the eyes. "Holding a grudge isn't worth it."

Seeing her eyes, redder than usual from her crying, caused his expression to soften. He sighed to himself. "Okay. I'll try."

Lycanroc smiled a bit. "Thank you."

Incineroar rubbed her back a bit more, holding her closer. "But just know. As long as I'm here, I won't let anything else happen to you…"

Lycanroc sniffled, hugging him back.

 **000**

 **And... done. Woo-hoo! No eliminations, just purely a reward challenge and… Dhelmise won. Great. GREEEEAT. But, at least Lycanroc is back out and about, and Hakamo-o has a chance to actually be with somebody! And yes, the other cast is still here. Things were bound to be a slight bit interesting. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon… Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**


	14. Episode 14: The Color Purple

**IIIII NEVER MEANT TO CAUSE YOU TROUBLE...IIIII NEVER MEANT TO DO YOU WRONG**

 **000**

The following week went about rather normally, with nothing of much interest occurring in the days leading up to Friday.

Hakamo-o and Lucario hadn't been as awkward as they used to, and actually started to enjoy each others company in order to get a head start on their future relationship.

Incineroar just spent his time playing against his fiance in Overwatch on the seventh floor, with a few of the others from the opposing cast watching, and Lycanroc cheering him on.

Tsareena just continued hanging around with Infernape, all the while keeping up her unintelligent act, which pissed Slowking off to no end.

Meanwhile, Dhelmise stuck with Tepig and Zorua since they were the only ones that interested him.

Soon enough, Friday came, and the fifteen competitors decided to have a beach day before Victini's cast had to leave.

 **000**

Ahh, Hano Beach, the perfect place for sun, sand, and surf, if you were capable of it. The fifteen contestants were all having fun in some form, which was not a rare or difficult feat with Alola's warm, friendly weather and ravishing scenery.

Dhelmise was once again with Tepig and Zorua. The fox was only watching on in horror as the two assholes shared humiliating information about their own casts. Dhelmise didn't really have much to say about the remaining four, but he had a ton to say regarding the ones that were eliminated prior to them getting there, with Tepig listening intently like a curious child.

"So the bloke really thought he banged a Salazzle?" Tepig inquired with a chortle.

"Yep, he just got suffocated by her pheromones and passed out. Then she just made it seem like sex happened," Dhelmise explained. "Overall, it was just dumb, and so was he since he apparently liked Hakamo-o."

"Welp, it's a bit too late for him, now," Tepig said, glancing over at the water, where Lucario and Hakamo-o were wrestling.

"Oh definitely," Dhelmise agreed, seeing the two girls flip and grope each other in the water. "I just don't want to be in the room some action happens between them."

He then turned and saw Scrafty and Umbreon napping next to each other on towels. "And then you guys have those two, who I guarantee will find something in common at the very end of you guys' show and fuck each others' brains out."

"I could sorta see that," Tepig said with a chuckle.

Zorua sighed to herself, shaking her head as she tried to mute everything that was hearing.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc was talking to Shuckle away from everyone. The Wolf Pokemon knew why the bug- and rock-type was appearing to be miserable, and after he asked her about _her_ issue, she initially didn't want to tell him, but eventually, she decided to explain it.

When she did, Shuckle grew sympathetic, having to fight back tears. "That's sad. Like… _really_ sad."

"Yeah," Lycanroc said softly, staring down as she drew a crude picture of a Rockruff, Ursaring, and Lycanroc in the sand with one of her claws. "Well, he's in jail now, so at least it can't continue."

She drew three vertical lines across the Ursaring's face.

Shuckle sighed. "Now I feel like I'm upset for a petty reason compared to yours," he expressed, sounding empathetic.

"No, no," Lycanroc replied before sighing. "This is why I hate talking about this side of my life. People always feel bad for me or they feel like they're required to compare it to something that happened to themselves in some way."

"Now I feel bad for feeling bad…" Shuckle drawled.

Lycanroc moaned in discontent and just flopped on her back, letting the grains of sand enter her fur.

 **-000-**

Incineroar was teaching Gallade a few wrestling holds out of boredom. Sure, things were awkward between the two of them, but there were some things that they had in common, well, mainly one thing: strength.

The muscular tiger had already taught the Blade Pokemon six moves prior; however, those were all standard. Now, he was going to start showing a few that his fiance came up with that were a bit unorthodox.

"Okay, and this is one that my man came up with," Incineroar said, walking behind Gallade. "Now, try not to panic or anything, because…" He suddenly realized something. "Wait, I forgot you're straight; you probably wouldn't be comfortable with the move."

He moved back in front of Gallade, but he insisted. "So, you are confirming that the move you're about to show me will cause mental and semi-physical discomfort in addition to the pain?"

"It depends on whether or not you're comfortable with a certain area of someone's body being near a certain area of your own," Incineroar replied.

"I'm strong enough to handle discomfort," Gallade responded. "Bring it on. This could be beneficial for me in the future."

"You sure?" Incineroar queried. "I'm pretty sure-"

"Just… do it," Gallade groaned.

Incineroar shrugged as he walked behind him once again. He had a feeling that the Blade Pokemon wouldn't like this _at all_.

 **-000-**

Slowking had been sleeping on a raft in the ocean when he suddenly felt himself being thrown into the water. The rush of water hitting his entire body shocked him awake; he resurfaced, panting. Upon breaching the ocean's surface, he saw that Lucario had taken over his raft.

"Hey!" he bellowed irritatedly.

"What?" Lucario responded, sounding a bit brash.

"That's _my_ raft," Slowking prodded, placing his arms on his inflatable resting toy. Suddenly, Hakamo-o rose from the depths directly in front of him.

"No, sorry, it's ours now," Hakamo-o mocked. "We _really_ need this raft."

"Wha-" Slowking started before Hakamo-o swam away from her, pushing Lucario on the raft. The Royal Pokemon groaned in annoyance.

Not willing to risk being pummeled, even with his type advantage, he decided to swim to shore. Upon feeling the grains of sand under his feet, he let out a soft sigh of discouragement.

He peered over and saw that Infernape was catering to Tsareena like some kind of servant, in his mind anyway. The Flame Pokemon was lathering Tsareena's back with sunscreen, as the Fruit Pokemon didn't think that rubbing it on herself in public would be a good idea if she wanted to keep up her facade. The cool white lotion being slathered on her back caused her to sigh in relief, and Infernape had _magical_ fingers that massaged her shoulders and back.

Once he was finished, Tsareena rolled onto her back and Infernape helped her sit up. Slowking glowered at the Fruit Pokemon and took a seat in front of the two of them, eyeing Hakamo-o and Lucario as they lied on the raft together.

Tsareena smiled to herself upon seeing Slowking in front of them.

"You smell… really nice Tsareena," she heard Infernape compliment as he handed her a Komala Coffee, which she purposely dropped in the sand.

"Did you use Sweet Scent or something?" the ape continued. "Because it has this like… floral-"

"No, she DID NOT USE SWEET SCENT!" Slowking growled.

This sudden outburst made Infernape jump. "You okay, dude?"

Tsareena winked at Slowking as he grit his teeth. "I-I'm fine. Just a little on edge today."

Suddenly, Victini's voice blared over a megaphone. "UH, MY GUYS! EMERGENCY! I NEED YOU ALL OVER TO MEET AT THE DOCK!"

"Ugh...I'm not going!" Umbreon shouted. "I'm taking a nap!"

"COME ON!" Victini shouted, sounding flustered.

With groans, all of the members of Victini's cast started heading back toward the dock of Akala Island. The players bid each other farewell, with Hakamo-o and Lucario hugging and Infernape picking up and hugging Tsareena as she went limp to keep up her facade.

As Victini and his cast left in a hurry via speedboat, leaving the final five very confused.

"So, uh… Hakamo-o. How does she taste?" Dhelmise teased, referring to Lucario.

The dragon- and fighting-type turned and glowered at the Sea Creeper Pokemon, trying to hide a blush. "Fuck you, Dhelmise."

A few seconds later, Solgaleo padded up behind them. "There you five are. Where'd everyone else go?"

"They're gone," Incineroar replied, watching the speedboat disappear in the distance. "Victini sounded panicked or something, so he just told them all to come to the dock. Then they left."

Solgaleo rose a brow upon hearing that. It was strange, but there was no reason to think much about it. "Huh. Well, I guess there was emergency that needed to be taken care of. Oh well."

"So, is everything back to normal now?" Lycanroc inquired, curious if they would be getting any more visitors.

"Yes," Solgaleo responded, expecting to hear that question from one of them. "There are no other crossover plans."

"Good," Dhelmise commented harshly. "I'm tired of dealing with other morons that I don't give a Rattata's ass about."

"Aw… so you care about your fellow competitors?" Solgaleo teased. "How sweet."

"Oh please," Dhelmise replied, sarcastically. "I don't give a shit about any of these losers. I'm in the final three!"

"Yes, I heard that from Lunala," Solgaleo said through grit teeth. "I had to take a couple of antidepressants and drown my disappointment with cheap liquor."

"But… isn't taking drugs and alcohol together a bad thing?" Hakamo-o replied, a bit concerned after hearing that.

Solgaleo blinked. "Alright, time for you guys' next challenge," he said, ignoring Hakamo-o's concern. "Let's get to Poni Island."

"Are you teleporting us or do we have to ride the stupid boat again?" Dhelmise questioned.

"You're immune, so you get the stay here, much to my enjoyment and relief," Solgaleo purred.

"No, I'm 100 percent sure that the enjoyment and relief extends to all of us, too," Incineroar said with a cheeky grin.

"Well, this must suck for you, because I'm still coming to watch," Dhelmise replied. "I'm in the final three, but that doesn't mean I can't come. Plus, Lunala said that if there's a reward for the challenge, I can still participate."

Hakamo-o and Incineroar looked to Solgaleo with borderline pleading eyes, with the exception of Tsareena who was still staring out in the distance, and Lycanroc, who wasn't really bothered. Solgaleo had an agitated and

"Please don't say that this is another reward challenge…" Hakamo-o beseeched.

Solgaleo only blinked in response again, a blue light enveloping the six of them before they all vanished.

 **000**

The six of them found themselves in a wide open field, the lush greenery radiating life and peace in the environment. Palm trees were sporadically growing in different sections of the fields. The air was clean and the ambience was very serene, giving one the feeling of overwhelming bliss.

"Thanks for the answer," Hakamo-o said through grit teeth, clenching her fists, glaring up at the white lion.

Solgaleo grumbled to himself before padding before them all and facing them. "Welcome to your next challenge," he hosted. "As you can see, we are currently in the peaceful Poni Plains…"

"A tongue twister, how enthralling…" Dhelmise drawled.

Solgaleo remained quiet for a while, screaming in his head. He took a deep breath before continuing his expounding of the challenge.

"Here in Poni Plains, there are Braviary and Mandibuzz that occasionally fly overhead, as well as Fearow that are just local to the vicinity," Solgaleo explained. Immediately, the five, excluding Tsareena, started scanning the sky and saw figures flying around above them, presumably the three flying-types that Solgaleo had just listed.

"Now, today's challenge will be split into two parts," Solgaleo explained. "Whoever wins the first part wins an advantage in the next part. Simple."

Dhelmise groaned. "Just get on with it, already! What's the challenge and the reward for this challenge?"

Solgaleo remained silent again. He swore to himself that he was going to take more pills when he got back to the hall. Dhelmise was _that_ irritating. "You alls challenge is to collect as many feathers as you can from the bird species that reside and roam around here. The player that has the most feathers by the time I declare the challenge over will win the advantage."

"Yeah yeah yeah, what's the _reward_?" Dhelmise pestered.

Solgaleo screamed with his mouth closed, his eyes wide as he stared at Dhelmise from the corner of his eyes.

"Uh, Dhelmise… you might not want to irk him too much," Lycanroc advised, seeing the crazed look in the legendary host's eyes.

"Oh please, he'll be fine," Dhelmise said nonchalantly. "He just needs to tell us what the reward is and be done with it."

"I hate you," Solgaleo remarked. "I'm not saying what the reward is until the second part of the challenge, so you're either participating or you're not. Make up your fucking mind. _Now_."

Dhelmise remained quiet for a while before grumbling. "Fine. I'll participate. This stupid reward had better be worth it."

"And there is no sabotage allowed on each other," Solgaleo replied. "We don't want another repeat of the last challenge."

"Wimp," Dhelmise remarked.

"Could you just keep your non-existant mouth shut and stop antagonizing him?!" Incineroar growled. The constant interruptions were eating away at the Heel Pokemon's already fractured nerves.

"Could _you_ choke on a Rapidash dildo and suffocate?" the Sea Creeper Pokemon shot back, causing Lycanroc and Hakamo-o to unconsciously blush and their eyes to widen.

Incineroar growled, clenching his fists, his knuckles popping. "You know… I'm getting _reeeally_ tired of you…" he said, turning to him.

"And why do I care about that?" Dhelmise questioned nonchalantly. "You've been tired of me since we first started this stupid show. And you always talk out of your destroyed ass and make hollow threats that you never go through with, so you talking shit to me literally does nothing."

Incineroar twitched, before attempting to swat at Dhelmise; Lycanroc held him back, though, keeping him away. "I will tear you apart; I swear I will. I will incinerate your body and spread your ashes all across this wonderful region."

"How if I'm already dead?"

"OKAY!" Solgaleo roared, getting their attention back. "Let's get back focused on the challenge alright? I'm sure that we all wish that Dhelmise could die a horrible death and hope that his body can never be found again, but we need to continue."

Hakamo-o huffed, Tsareena simply stared into space, Incineroar folded his eyes, throwing an irritated gance toward Dhelmise, who looked completely unbothered, and Lycanroc just leaned against Incineroar's side.

"Now, one other rule. Even though I'm sure you all would like to, you are _not_ permitted to help each other in the challenge," Solgaleo stated. "Failure to comply will result in you being disqualified from the first part of the challenge."

Hakamo-o, Incineroar, and Lycanroc all shared a collective groan of disappointment, while Dhelmise chortled. "Sucks for you, losers…"

"And a final rule, no using any type of supernatural abilities," Solgaleo explained, glowering directly at Dhelmise. "You will only be permitted to use the moves that you know and the environment around you. Understand?"

They all nodded in agreement except for Tsareena, who just blinked.

"Alright, the challenge begins...now!"

Immediately, Incineroar, Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Dhelmise went their separate ways, and Tsareena stood in place before collapsing on her back and staring at the sky.

 **000**

" **Meh. It's not an elimination challenge, so I have no need to do anything," Tsareena replied. "Even if the reward is good, what'd** _ **really**_ **be the difference? The hotel still has food, comfortable living arrangements, and entertainment."**

 **000**

Upon being told that they couldn't help each other, Hakamo-o got into competitive mode. She needed to win the challenge and get that advantage; maybe she'd have a chance to win the final reward. She just hoped that it was worth it.

She wanted Dhelmise to lose this challenge just so he would shut the hell up. But, upon remembering how he is, she knew that even if she won, that'd meet nothing and he'd still run his trap. She just sighed.

As she crossed the plains, the grass tickling the bottom of her feet, she found herself thinking about Lucario momentarily. She still couldn't believe that she practically had a girlfriend now, the first relationship she's ever had. If things hadn't gone wrong, she'd have thought that Passimian would actually make a move with what he'd been talking about regarding her, but… he got eliminated, so there was no need to dwell on him.

And what was the most weird was the fact that both she and Lucario were extremely awkward regarding relationships. After they kissed Monday night, the twosome spent most of their time together for the rest of the week, leading to them being fully comfortable with each other enough to grope each other and wrestle _playfully_ rather than just as a battle strategy.

Her thoughts completely clouded her mind, causing her to walk right into a tree. Hakamo-o growled, rubbing her head. She heard the leaves rustle, letting her know that there was a Pokemon there and looked up to see a large, brown bird fly out of the tree.

Her eyes widened as she saw the Fearow fly away. Gasping, she immediately started running after it.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" she shouted as she ran after the Beak Pokemon.

The Fearow seamlessly ignored her and continued flying. Growling, a white aura surrounded Hakamo-o and rocks appeared around her, which she promptly fired at the bird.

A few of the rocks struck the bird, causing it to squawk out in pain and annoyance. It turned back toward Hakamo-o, giving her a scowl.

Hakamo-o grinned and beckoned for the bird to come at her. Falling for the taunt, the Fearow practically dive bombed toward her. As Hakamo-o prepared for the blow, a chain fired from the side, entangling the Fearow and yanking it to the side.

Hakamo-o gaped and looked over to see Dhelmise reeling in the Fearow. "HEY, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!"

"SCREW OFF!" Dhelmise retorted as he knocked out the Fearow with a Power Whip.

Hakamo-o growled, clenching her fists as she walked away.

 **000**

Lycanroc, having seen the unwanted interaction between Dhelmise and Hakamo-o, sighed. It seemed like with every challenge, Dhelmise's taunts got worse and worse. She still didn't have a personal problem with the ghost- and grass-type, as hardly any of his taunts got to her or were specifically aimed at her, but she felt annoyed that her friends got annoyed.

She sat against a tree, unsure about what she should do at this point. She wanted to help others out mostly, but seeing as helping wasn't allowed, she didn't know. Sure, she had an advantage, being a rock-type, but that didn't help with how she was feeling.

She prefered working together with others a lot more than just working alone. She didn't know why, but she just felt so much more comfortable being with others. She looked around and caught sight of Incineroar chasing after a Braviary that was flying suspiciously low to the ground.

She giggled to herself upon seeing that and rose onto her feet with a sigh. She might as well participate; who knew when Solgaleo was going to say that the challenge time was up?

"Well, time to find my own bird to-"

She suddenly heard rustling above her head, followed by a few leaves falling down around her. Shaking her head fur, she got a bit of dirt and leaves off before looking up and seeing an Emolga there.

"An Emolga?" she inquired. "Huh. Not what I was looking for, but I guess they're around here, too."

The Emolga's tail began emitting sparks before a large, orange-yellow sphere formed from it. Lycanroc's eyes widened and an aura surrounded her. A white orb appeared in her hand and she aimed it at the Emolga just as it launched an Electro Ball at her.

Lycanroc leapt out of the way before firing rocks at the Sky Squirrel Pokemon. The attack hit, knocking the Emolga out as it collapsed onto the ground.

"Sorry!" Lycanroc said as she rushed away from that tree. She noticed a shadow on the ground near the edge of the plains and looked up to see a Mandibuzz flying in a circle.

Following what she did a few seconds ago to the Emolga, she used Rock Throw, hitting the Mandibuzz as it fell to the ground.

"Sorry," Lycanroc apologized as she approached the fallen Bone Vulture Pokemon. She walked over and started plucking a few feathers from its back.

The Mandibuzz squawked in pain from every loss of a feather. With an irritated growl, it got back onto its feet and kicked Lycanroc in the face, stunning her momentarily before taking flight once again.

Lycanroc groaned, rubbing her face before the buzzard fly off. She looked at her paws and saw that she had successfully plucked off six of the Mandibuzz's feathers.

 **000**

Dhelmise, so far, had collected twenty feathers in total from the one Fearow that he stole from Hakamo-o. And luckily, because he didn't attack her to get the bird, it was technically allowed.

"This is completely stupid," Dhelmise stated as he floated away from the Beak Pokemon. "No sabotage, no helping each other, no 'supernatural' help? How will their precious ratings ever go high without the key elements of comedy?"

As he floated around the plains, he gazed upwards at the numerous birds that flew past each other. He had a feeling that this challenge was going to drag on due to the lack of action that'd occur. He was only participating for the prize, but now that he was thinking about it, it probably wasn't worth it if _this_ was all that was going to happen.

He looked around the plains to see how the others were doing. Tsareena was lying on her back, unmoving, as he expected. He still couldn't believe that the dumb Slowking and Infernape were trying to convince him that that ditz was actually smart. He then looked over and saw Lycanroc walking around aimlessly with a couple of feathers in her paws.

Hakamo-o was walking around, looking in the air for birds to grab.

Incineroar was jumping up and leaping for a Braviary. As he passed by a tree, though, he found himself being tackled by a Primeape, allowing the Valiant Pokemon to escape. Dhelmise laughed at this.

"Pathetic," he commented before he took note of the amount of birds that were around here. "This is so stupid…"

 **000**

Incineroar had been chasing the same Braviary for almost ten minutes, and ended up being taken down by a Primeape.

"Oh what the HELL!?" Incineroar exclaimed before being repeatedly punched in the face by the Primeape.

Growling, Incineroar shoved the angry Pig Monkey Pokemon off of himself. His right arm became surrounded by a black aura with a purple outline. The aura formed into the shape of a claw and he slashed at the Primeape, knocking it back.

"THIS CHALLENGE IS SHIT!" he shouted toward the sky.

He looked around the borderline barren, uninteresting plains before glancing upwards at all of the birds flying. He growled before glaring over at Solgaleo, who was seemingly just taking a nap in the center of the plains. The challenge was even boring _him_!

Growling, the tiger went over to the larger, sleeping cat, the sun shining down intensely. Approaching, he pat the Sunne Pokemon on the head in an attempt to wake him up. It hadn't even been _that_ long, and he was already getting annoyed.

Solgaleo groaned to himself, groggy from the nap he was taking. He wasn't expecting anyone to wake him; he was actually going to end the challenge once he woke up on his own, but it looked like that would no longer be the case. He eyed Incineroar agitatedly, yet curiously.

"What is it, Incineroar?" he asked, rubbing his face. "Shouldn't you be collecting feathers?"

"This challenge is crap," Incineroar stated annoyedly. "It's completely boring around here. If we can't help or do anything to each other, nothing's gonna get done! Plus, the birds are flying too high up to be able to be caught!"

With a sigh, Solgaleo got to his feet as he looked around the area. Almost every contestant was just dragging along, almost as if they were sulking. He rose a brow. "Hmm, I suppose you're right. This challenge will most likely end up dragging on," he said as he looked up. "I guess I didn't count the fact that the birds may just remain in the sky the entire time."

"Yeah…" Incineroar said, as if it was completely obvious.

"FINAL FIVE, COME BACK OVER!" Solgaleo roared.

 **000**

"What is it now?" Dhelmise groaned. "You already have us doing a pointless, boring challenge, so what else do you want from us?"

"Change of plans," Solgaleo hosted. "I've realized that this challenge is rather unpredictable and will be rather boring if you're not allowed to help each other."

"Oh, so you admit that trying to censor and provide hindrances for me makes your show boring," Dhelmise said before turning to the cameras. "Well you've heard it here first everyone. This show is boring as shit without me, so let's-"

"DHELMISE!" Solgaleo roared furiously, startling Tsareena, Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Incineroar. Dhelmise chortled at the host's anger. The Sunne Pokemon took a deep breath. "Just… shut the fuck up… and follow me," he instructed, holding in his rage the best that he could.

The lion started walking northwest from the spot where they were all standing. The final five exchanged glances before following the host. As they trailed the psychic- and steel-type, Lycanroc noticed that Tsareena was still standing there, stable.

The wolf sighed before nudging Incineroar.

"Hmm? What's up, Lycanroc?"

Lycanroc gestured behind them. The tiger looked behind himself and saw that she was likely referring to Tsareena. She wasn't moving; she just stood there and blinked. Incineroar looked back at Lycanroc. "Really?"

" _Please_?" she replied.

Groaning, Incineroar walked back over toward Tsareena. Lycanroc glanced forward and saw that Solgaleo, Hakamo-o, and Dhelmise were entering a cave-like opening with purple flowers dangling from the top. She had to admit, she was a bit curious. Turning back around, she saw that Incineroar was heading back with Tsareena strewn over his right shoulder.

"Come on…" he said as he continued walking, heading to the same cave that Solgaleo led Hakamo-o and Dhelmise to.

 **000**

" **So, apparently since Incineroar complained about how unfair and lame the challenge was, Solgaleo decided to make up another challenge on the spot," Hakamo-o said. "Has that ever happened before in these shows?"**

 **000**

When Lycanroc and Incineroar, with Tsareena over his shoulder, entered the 'cave', they found themselves in a much larger vicinity than they thought was there. There was a rather light fog in the area. There were numerous large trees with purple flowers dangling from the branches. There was a pond in the area with numerous lilypads inside. There was another path leading above and beyond the pond.

There was a wooden table set up with a white tablecloth over it. There were five glass jars sitting on the table, each with name tags in front of them. Each jar had red lines wrapped three-fourths of the way up the jar, near the lid. Along with the jars on the table, there were juicers.

"Welcome, to Poni Meadows, the site of your next challenge!" Solgaleo explained.

"Whoa whoa whoa, so you're just gonna ignore the previous challenge?!" Dhelmise queried. "I had the most feathers!"

"Yeah, well sucks for you. There's not gonna be an advantage," Solgaleo said, not caring about the Sea Creeper's feelings. "Now, this challenge is going to involve all of the flowers that you see in these trees, as well as nectar that you may find around here."

"You each must gather as many flowers and nectar as you can and, using the juicers or your own methods, fill your designated jar up to the red line," he explained. "Then, you must drink the concoction. The player that is able to do that the fastest will win the reward: An all-expense paid, weekend long spa trip at Dalton's Resort in Kanto!"

There wasn't any cheering, but there were looks of supreme interest. Dhelmise, upon hearing that reward, scoffed. "Really? A fucking SPA TRIP!? _That_ 's what we're competing for?!"

"Yes," Solgaleo said. "So…"

"Ugh… I should have known not to expect anything actually good from you screwups…" Dhelmise muttered. He let out a sigh. "But, I suppose I wouldn't mind having shank yanked and massaged…"

Everyone stared at him for a few moments.

"Okay, so for this challenge, the only rule I'd say this time is… no sabotage," Solgaleo explained. "Feel free to help each other and whatnot. The challenge begins… NOW!"

Dhelmise, Incineroar, Lycanroc, and Hakamo-o all scattered, while Tsareena remained standing there, unmoving.

Seeing this, Solgaleo groaned.

 **000**

Incineroar and Lycanroc immediately teamed up and headed toward the tree nearest to the pond. Sinking his claws into the dense bark, Incineroar began his climb up the tree.

There were a few bunches of flowers dangling from the branches. Lycanroc remained on the ground, looking up at her friend.

The trees themselves didn't have many foliage on them other than the purple plants. Incineroar reached the top and crawled out onto a branch where the plants dangled. He started shimmying across the splintery wood and started swatting at the plants.

"Come on…" he said as he pulled himself forward a bit more.

"You can get them, Incineroar!" Lycanroc cheered him on.

Suddenly, the tiger heard cracking, causing his eyes to widen. He looked around and eyed the base of the branch, which was slowly bending. He started to hear cracking as he grabbed onto the purple flowers.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" he groaned.

The branch snapped, dropping him down to the ground with a pained grunt. Lycanroc winced at the impact before taking a few steps forward and rubbing his head. "You okay, big guy?"

Incineroar groaned in response. He had landed on his stomach, and if you've ever landed on it, you know how much pain he's in. He shakily got onto his feet, his voice sounding strained. "Yeah, I'm okay…" he said holding his stomach. He reached down and saw that he had landed on a bunch of flowers.

Lycanroc giggled. "You crushed the flowers?"

"Well sorry if my big body caused an issue," he replied playfully as he ruffled Lycanroc's fur.

The wolf giggled as the Heel Pokemon moved his paws. "Well, you've got your flowers, now I need to get mine…"

Incineroar glanced over at the branch, which was hanging on by a sliver and resting against the tree trunk. There were a couple more bunches of flowers attached to the branch. "Well, there are some still on that branch…"

Lycanroc looked over at the branch dangling from the side and gained a smile. She walked over to the branch and plucked the flowers from the branch. "Thanks."

"What's our strategy gonna be for this challenge anyway?" asked Incineroar. "Do we just collect as many as we can and _then_ juice and drink? Or do we do it as we go?"

"Either way is fine, I think," Lycanroc expressed. "As long as we complete the challenge and one of us wins, it should be fine."

Incineroar nodded. "So, I have one flower, and you have two," he acknowledged.

"Maybe we should split this third flower," Lycanroc acknowledged, holding up the third flower. "That way we're the same.

Nodding, the two walked back over to the table.

 **000**

Hakamo-o went up the curved hill leading higher and further into the meadows. On the way up, she acknowledged the large, twisting branches extending from a tree near the back. She eyed the purple flowers that were growing along the wall and smiled to herself. Maybe she had a chance.

Once she made it atop the 'hill', she peered back and saw Lycanroc and Incineroar already back at the table, which didn't really surprise her, as she saw them head to the nearest tree. She looked back over at another tree, along with a small gap that was between the land.

Jumping across the gap with minimal difficulty, she began her ascent up the high tree on the other side. There were a few flowers at the base of the tree alone, but she decided to go for the ones that were higher up _due_ to the accessibility of the ones at the bottom.

"Alright, grab the ones all around up here and then go back down to get the others…" she told herself as she climbed up the trunk. As she continued her climb up, she felt something warm, wet, and sticky running down the creases of the large, perennial plant.

"What the-" she started, looking at the substance that was trickling down her arm. The main thing that caught her eyes was the color. "Purple. Wait... _nectar_."

She looked up and saw that numerous flowers were dripping nectar onto the tree trunk. She gained a sneer. She continued her climb up and reached up for the flowers that were dripping nectar.

She got up onto a tree branch and took a seat on it before starting to pick the dripping plants. She looked down at her claws, which still had a bit of the nectar on them. She had never tasted any nectar before, so she was a bit curious as to what she and the others were going to be put through when they'd have to drink.

Raising her claws to her tongue, she took a lick before almost instantly gagging at the taste. It tasted like a combination of spoiled milk, grape medicine, and sweaty socks. She spit out the nectar repeatedly, clawing at her tongue.

"Arceus, that's fucking awful!" she remarked, wiping her mouth. "How could Oricorio drink that stuff?!"

Now knowing how bad the taste was, she shuddered as she started picking the flowers. She grabbed six of them that were all bunched up and then looked out onto the extending branches that were curling around corners and rocky walls. There were more flowers hanging from the branches. Keeping the ones in her arms, she slowly crawled her way across the branches, feeling lucky that the weren't moving at all.

She found herself gazing at the distance and just so happened to see Incineroar falling from a pillar. She suppressed her urge to laugh, as she could fall from the branches at any time.

"Come on…" she growled to herself as she reached out and reached for a couple more flowers. In doing so, she didn't notice that more of the disgusting nectar secreted from the flowers in her arms, making her underside a bit slippery, sticky, and uncomfortable.

Grabbing hold of them, she gained a smirk before deciding to drop down from the branch. However, she ended up tripping as she got onto her feet, landing on the ground with a _THUD_.

Groaning, Hakamo-o got back onto her feet with her flowers. "Ugh…"

She rushed back down the hill and headed to the table, passing by Lycanroc and Incineroar. Hakamo-o placed all of her flowers on the table and started pounding the flowers flat and slashing at them before tossing them into her jar, nectar and all.

"Whoa, nice work, Haka," Lycanroc complimented, walking over.

"Thanks," Hakamo-o replied, looking at the clumpy, purple substance in her jar. " I have to say… this is going to fucking suck."

"How come?" Lycanroc asked curiously as Incineroar headed over.

"The nectar tasted awful," Hakamo-o explained. "I have no idea how this is gonna play out for us…"

"Hey, it can't be that bad," Incineroar said, holding another flower. He dipped a claw into the flower, a bit of the nectar on his claw. He rose it to his lips and licked it before recoiling and bit at the sour, pungent taste. "Okay never mind, it _can_ be that bad…"

Lycanroc rose a brow before dipping her own claw into the flower and tasting the nectar. Her nose crinkled a bit, but she didn't gag, so it was okay. It wasn't _good_ , but it wasn't that _bad_ , either. The wolf shrugged, much to her friends' bemusement.

 **000**

Dhelmise was sitting at the bottom of the pond, taking a nap. He was bored of the challenge. Solgaleo told him no sabotage, so he had nothing to do. The only thing he had to do in the challenge was use his ghostly kinesis to get all of the flowers that he'd need, squeeze and crush them, and toss them into his jar. Easy as pie.

He had been asleep for almost twenty minutes, with Barboach, Magikarp, and Dratini smacking into him or gnawing on his body a bit.

The constant attention from the fish and dragons caused him a lot of agitation, leading to him waking up again. "Ugh… will you stupid fish leave me alone?!"

The Sea Creeper moved back a bit under the water, heading into the cavern. "Ugh… if I was my fucking full size, none of these fucks would bother me."

At this point in the game, Dhelmise _really_ didn't care. He was in the final three, so he could basically just distract and belittle whoever he wanted without the threat of being eliminated. And if there were two people that he wanted to leave, it'd be Lycanroc and Tsareena.

He respected Lycanroc, but he was there to fuck around. She hardly ever seemed to give him a reaction when he insulted everyone; it really ate at him. She had _really_ thick skin, so he knew that she wouldn't be as easy to manipulate and fill with rage if she made it to the final three as well.

As for Tsareena, he just hated dumb people. They were such a waste of space in the world from his point of view. He still didn't get why Slowking was trying to tell him that Tsareena was smart. It was so stupid to say.

Hakamo-o and Incineroar were the ones who gave the best reactions, so having them make it far would be very fun and easy for him. So, he'd need to ensure that the wolf and plant didn't make it that far.

He decided to rise up and investigate how far along the others were. Rising up from the water, he looked at the jars on the table and saw that some of them were filled up a bit. Hakamo-o's was, surprisingly, almost at a halfway point in the jar, while both Incineroar and Lycanroc had a small amount of fluid in their jars. And, of course, Tsareena's was empty.

He chuckled. "Losers…" he commented before lowering himself back down.

 **000**

Incineroar, Lycanroc, and Hakamo-o decided to work together to collect more flowers. Incineroar's height allowed for him to reach the flowers that were growing along the wall. There were four, so they each were able to get one and one was left over for whoever.

"This almost feels unfair," Hakamo-o laughed. "I mean, I haven't seen Dhelmise since the challenge started."

"Good, that bastard deserves jack shit…" Incineroar commented, folding his arms

The three of them made it up the hill and turned to the right. They saw branches and vines creating pathways across different platforms, as well as numerous other flowers hanging overhead.

"Wow, this place looks amazing," Lycanroc commented, seeing the scenery that expanded beyond the entrance.

There was more water in that area, seemingly expanding from the pond that they saw earlier. As they continued through, they had to be careful when they went across the 'bridges', as they looked very unstable.

Going across one at a time, a thought appeared in Hakamo-o's head as her feet moved across the thick stems and felt the gritty textures of the branches. Once she made it across, she immediately moved toward the other bridge and got onto the other platform, where more grass and flowers were.

Lycanroc and Incineroar followed suit, and once they were next to her.

"Wow, this place is _much_ bigger than I thought," Incineroar said, looking around.

"Guys, I think I have a way for us to… oh wait, _fuck_ ," Hakamo-o growled as he ripped out a flower from the ground out of anger.

"What's the matter?" Lycanroc inquired as Incineroar folded his arms.

"I was gonna suggest that we form an alliance and get into the final three by voting for Dhelmise and Tsareena, but I forgot that the rat bastard already won because of the last challenge..." Hakamo-o growled. "So, I guess it'll just be Tsareena and then...we just let what happens happen."

"And what if there's an automatic elimination?" Incineroar replied.

"Then, may the best player win," Hakamo-o replied with a smile. "And let's just hope that Dhelmise doesn't win…"

Incineroar nodded, while Lycanroc simply remained silent, arms behind her back. She had no comment on the subject whatsoever.

"Okay, let's continue this challenge, shall we?" Lycanroc advised, picking up a couple of flowers from the ground.

Infernape chuckled. "Yeah, I think that'd be best. "I need a good massage after all…"

"HA!" Hakamo-o laughed. "If you think that _you_ are the one who's gonna win this, you've got another thing coming…"

Incineroar scoffed playfully. "Please. As if I'm letting you win anything…"

"Well we'll see now won't we?" Hakamo-o questioned as she picked up more flowers that were around them.

Lycanroc looked over and started heading over in order to climb up a tree.

"Hey!" Incineroar called as he started yanking flowers out of the ground and looking around the area.

He noticed a cave in the far back and grew curious. "Hmm, I wonder if there are more flowers in there…"

As he began walking over, he grabbed more flowers that dangled from low hanging vines. "This challenge is unbelievably easier than I thought it'd be."

The Heel Pokemon moved toward the wide platform and slowly moved toward the cave opening. It was decently illuminated, but he didn't want to stray too far from the main area. Sure, this cave was _part_ of the area, but he couldn't see any sign of the purple flowers that they were supposed to be gathering.

He cursed to himself before hearing his name be called.

"Incineroar! Where'd you go?!" Lycanroc called.

Incineroar turned and started heading back, holding all of his flowers. As he did, he heard a low growl from deep within the cave, causing him to pale. He slowly turned back and the sudden darkness of the cave caused him to blanch and rush toward the others.

 **000**

" **WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Incineroar bellowed.**

 **000**

Dhelmise, getting bored with waiting, floated out of the water just as Hakamo-o came down the hill with numerous flowers. He rose a non-existent brow as Hakamo-o went to the table with all of the jars. Incineroar and Lycanroc followed suit soon after.

He chuckled to himself. "Losers…"

Looking around, he noticed that Tsareena was no longer in the vicinity. "Huh. She probably wandered and fell somewhere. Oh well…"

Dhelmise immediately began floating numerous flowers toward himself. Since there was no rule against it, he was easily able to manipulate all of the flowers that _weren't_ gathered by the others.

Upon seeing what he was doing, they gaped.

"HEY YOU ASSHOLE! THAT'S CHEATING!" Hakamo-o roared.

"No, it's not!" Dhelmise replied. "He said his only rule this time was _no sabotage_ ," Dhelmise reminded. "So, fuck you and your feelings."

Soon enough, the Sea Creeper had a vast amount of flowers swirling around him. With a furious growl, Incineroar blasted a Flamethrower at the flowers swirling around Dhelmise, living up to his name, and incinerating them.

"Well, this challenge is completely screwed now thanks to you, numb nuts!" Dhelmise commented.

Solgaleo teleported into the Poni Meadows, having been watching the live feed. "For fuck's sake!" the lion groaned. "Is today just a bad day for you guys or something?!"

No one responded as Solgaleo grunted in annoyance. "Okay, well, I guess this challenge is over and nobody wins…"

"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled.

"How is that fair!?" Hakamo-o bellowed.

"Well, considering that Dhelmise practically stole every single fucking flower out of this place and Incineroar burned them all, there aren't any more flowers that you can gather for nectar. And the ones that you have aren't going to fill up your damn jars, either!" Solgaleo exclaimed.

Dhelmise chuckled. "Way to go Lion Ding-a-ling. You've completely failed as a host this time arou-"

The Sea Creeper was immediately cut off by Solgaleo rushing forward and pinning him under an oversized paw. "I will end you…" the Sunne Pokemon threatened, sounding deadly serious.

Dhelmise huffed and phased away from the angry host. "Sheesh. No need to be a pussy about it…"

Solgaleo twitched, startling the other three as they exchanged nervous glances.

"Uh… Solgaleo?" Lycanroc started.

Blue aura surrounded all of them. Tsareena entered the area again before tripping, making everyone stare at her before they were all teleported away.

 **000**

They all appeared in front of the hotel. Immediately upon returning them, Solgaleo teleported away without saying a word.

Once the host was gone, Hakamo-o and Incineroar turned to Dhelmise with angered expressions.

"Oh wipe those frowns off of your faces," Dhelmise demanded. "The dumb host screwed up today. Two challenges failed because of bootleg Siegfried and Roy, here…"

"BASTARD! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO FUCKED OVER THE FLOWERS!"

"You're the one who burned them, dumbass," Dhelmise said. "Now all of you still have to deal with me for the weekend. Aww…."

Hakamo-o growled as the Sea Creeper Pokemon headed toward the hotel doors.

"If that bastard wasn't already in the final three…" Incineroar growled.

"We need to knock him down a peg," Hakamo-o stated. "Today was just… awful."

"Yeah, none of us won anything," Lycanroc added.

Tsareena, overhearing this, smiled to herself.

 **000**

" **Hmm, so it would seem that the others are finally going to try and knock Dhelmise down a few pegs…" Tsareena explained. "Sadly, it will only backfire on them, as he is still in the final three regardless. And with five of us in total, they won't be able to touch him unless two of us without immunity gets eliminated."**

 **Tsareena sighed. "It's quite sad. If only they'd developed this mindset sooner…"**

 **000**

Solgaleo was banging his head against the wall of his room, creating dents. He took a few antidepressants before lying on his bed. "I hate my life…" he groaned before noticing the camera.

He quickly sat up. "Oh, uh, yeah. Nothing happened. Today was a complete failure and a total headache for me. I hope you somehow found enjoyment out of that shit. Hopefully Lunala has a better time than I did, here on Total...Pokemon...Alola…"

He lied back down on his bed, his stomach grumbling.

 **000**

 **Nothing to say. I hope you all somehow found this enjoyable and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**


	15. Episode 15: A, B, Seaward

**Okay…**

 **000**

After hearing the frustrations of the other three contestants, well mainly Incineroar and Hakamo-o, and hearing a few of their ideas, Tsareena was rather skeptical about rather or not she should keep up the facade or not.

At this point, everyone had the same enemy and the same mindset, which she was happy about; it ate at her that she was debating this choice.

It was currently 8:49 in the morning; it was Monday, meaning that they had a challenge and Lunala would be the host. So, she could very well reveal herself to Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Incineroar and have them keep the facade alive.

Stretching, the Fruit Pokemon went into her bathroom to do her daily routine. She went inside of her still, relatively clean bathroom and turned on the hot water. She went ahead and sat down in the tub so that her body would adjust to the higher temperature early and she could just adjust accordingly.

As the tub filled up, the grass-type considered her options. She knew that she was going to let the others get to know her real personality and attempt to help them with Dhelmise in some way, despite the annoying jackass' current status, but then they'd know that she was actually a threat and eliminate her if a normal vote was involved.

It was a win and a lose at the same exact time; if Dhelmise hadn't cheated and won the challenge when the cast from Victini's show was here, he'd be eliminated instantly, no contest.

"Hmm… what do I do?" she asked herself as the running water reached the halfway point up her body. She reached forward and turned the water off before sighing and relaxing herself. "If only I had the bath salts and bath bombs back at home. This would be perfect…"

"Ugh, do I risk myself or just keep letting them think I'm dumb?" she asked herself. "It certainly would be a weight off my shoulders… my face and legs have been aching…"

The Fruit Pokemon began bathing herself, using a bar of soap and a loofah. After a fifteen minute scrubbing session, Tsareena drenched herself with non-soapy water before standing up. She pulled the drain up, allowing the water to begin draining out.

She sighed as she wrapped a towel around herself and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. What was her decision going to be?

 **000**

Lycanroc shuffled in her bed in her still disheveled room. No attempt had been made to clean the room, as she knew that it would only become damaged again when she was asleep. As the sun shined through her drapeless windows, the Wolf Pokemon moaned to herself and drew her covers over herself to avoid the sunlight.

After a few minutes, the red canine sighed and uncovered herself before noticing something; her room wasn't more destroyed. It was unusual initially, but when she moved her legs, she hit something else that was in her bed, startling her. She slowly turned over in her bed and was surprised to see a familiar tiger facing away from her, lying in her bed. She didn't find it completely awful or concerning, knowing how they both felt about each other.

" _That explains why nothing was destroyed,"_ she thought to herself with a giggle. She rubbed her head, trying to remember how the two of them ended up falling asleep in her bed.

She sat up and prepared to get out of her bed. As she did, Incineroar purred as he rolled onto his back and smacked his lips. She silently giggled and rose up before heading toward her bathroom. As she did, she noticed an envelope sitting at her door.

Intrigued, she bent down and picked it up. The envelope was addressed to her, and it apparently was

"From Charizard…" she read to herself. She looked back toward her bed, where Incineroar was turning over once again. She looked back down at the letter and went into the bathroom.

 **000**

 **Lycanroc sighed. "Well, Charizard sent me a letter to apologize and explained everything. Didn't really expect this…"**

" **Well, I'm a forgiving girl, so… I'll try to respond the best I can…"**

 **000**

As the faint sound of the shower head spraying water entered the room, Incineroar groaned to himself. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around, noticing that he wasn't in his own room. "What the hell?" he asked to himself. "W-Why am I in Lycanroc's room?"

He could immediately tell that it was Lycanroc's room by the state of disrepair the room was in. He sighed as he sat up and popped his back. "Fuck me…" he groaned.

He decided to go ahead and go to his own room to shower and such. He passed by her bathroom door and headed out, all the while a bit skeptical about what happened that led to them practically sleeping together.

As he exited Lycanroc's room, Hakamo-o happened to pass by him, relatively unfazed at the fact that he was leaving her room. Then a thought hit him… why was _he_ suddenly so weirded out about it? They'd slept together numerous times throughout the duration of the show, albeit not in an actual bed, but still!

He shook his head free of his sudden bewilderment and regained his primary objective at the moment: fucking over Dhelmise. He followed Hakamo-o, who had been heading toward the elevators.

 **000**

Hakamo-o had pressed the down button on the elevator and, after a few seconds, it opened. She heard footsteps, and after seeing him the hall, inferred that it was Incineroar. She extended her arm to hold the elevator doors open and, soon enough, the tiger came from around the corner.

Upon seeing the elevator door being held open, he entered it, allowing Hakamo-o to remove her arm and press the door closing button.

"So, I see that you ended up falling asleep in Lycanroc's room…" Hakamo-o commented. "Did anything, uh..."

"Of course not!" Incineroar blustered, his face flushing in embarrassment. "I'm a taker, not a giver, and she's just a best friend!"

"Okay, okay," Hakamo-o chortled, gesturing for him to calm down. "I was just kidding…"

"Well...good, then," Incineroar replied, folding his arms bashfully. The usually abrasive and serious dragon- and fighting-type's sudden shift in attitude certainly surprised the tiger. She'd been different ever since she met Lucario from Victini's show. Did the Aura Pokemon really affect her that much? "You've certainly been more upbeat as of late. Guess Lucario really caused a change in you…"

Hakamo-o shrugged. "Not much of a change at all, really. Just a bit more quote unquote, playful," she responded, making the hand gestures as the elevator doors opened.

The two stepped onto the second floor, heading toward the buffet area. "So, what's our plan for dealing with anchor boy?" Hakamo-o questioned, shifting the subject to what they were discussing in the previous challenge and the following Saturday morning.

Incineroar started thinking about it before running right into the door of the cafe. Hakamo-o chortled at this before opening the door and heading inside. The tiger followed shortly after.

"I'm not entirely sure yet," the Heel Pokemon replied. "I guess it'd be based on the challenge. Plus, we don't know if the bastard will want to compete in the challenge or not."

Hakamo-o sighed in dismay as she headed to the breakfast buffet island with the fire- and dark-type. "So…" she started, grabbing a plate. "Essentially, we're hosed if he decides not to compete in tonight's challenge…"

Incineroar let out a sigh of his own, his eyes closing momentarily. "Pretty much," he said, grabbing his own plate.

Hakamo-o growled, smashing her plate on the marble in anger. Incineroar rose a brow, understanding her feeling.

"Great," she groaned. "So no matter what, we're still gonna deal with his bullshit. What a _wondrous_ final five."

"Well, final three in the douchebag's case…" Incineroar said as he grabbed some bacon and a few scoops of eggs. He let out an irritated huff. "Well, we could probably knock him down a few pegs by insulting him back or something…or causing him grievous bodily harm."

"Hmm… I'm okay with that, but how would we do it?" Hakamo-o queried, her eyes glimmering in interest. "That jackass can spin everything back toward us!"

Incineroar groaned as he pinched the bridge of his snout. "We'll figure something out. At least I hope…"

Hakamo-o nodded as Incineroar started heading back out of the cafe. Once he was out of the vicinity, Dhelmise happened to pass him by. Much to his surprise, the ghost didn't utter a single word to him. Perturbed, yet relieved, the tiger continued on his way.

 **000**

Dhelmise had passed by Incineroar, who gave him a scowl as he entered the cafe. The Heel Pokemon's usual aggressive disposition didn't faze the ghost- and grass-type. He had his own business to handle: satisfying his hunger.

With him being in the final three, undoubtedly, he decided that now would be the good time to mess with the minds of those he deemed weak. So, pretty much all of them. Seeing that Hakamo-o was grabbing a few Sitrus Berries and placing them on her plate, he saw that this was the perfect opportunity.

Already knowing the response he was going to get, he floated over and, with a blunt, uncaring tone, said, "So, which of your friends are you gonna betray in next couple of challenges?"

Taken aback by his abrupt question, Hakamo-o placed her plate down and turned to face the Sea Creeper Pokemon with a stern, unwelcoming glower. "What are you on about?"

"Or are you just gonna take the easy way out and get rid of Tsareena, making it harder for yourself in the future?" he continued, ignoring her response.

The Scaly Pokemon huffed. "Don't fucking start with me…." she threatened, her eyes lowering further as turned around to grab her plate again.

"You're evading the questions," Dhelmise retorted. "I'm only thinking on a grander scale. I mean… you want to win, right?"

"We all want to win, you idiot!" Hakamo-o growled, slamming her plate onto the table and facing the seaweed-anchor combo. "What kind of question is that?!"

"It's a strategy-based question…" Dhelmise replied simply. "All you need to do is answer…"

"Why the hell do you want to know so bad?!" Hakamo-o inquired. "You're already in the final three, you son of a bitch! What I decide to do is none of your business!"

"So you say, but like you said, I'm already in the final three. Therefore, since you are my competition and you have a possibility to get to the final three as well, what you do _is_ my business…" Dhelmise replied smugly.

Hakamo-o clenched her fists, as he was correct in that sense. Her decisions _did_ impact him in some way, but it wasn't only _her_ decisions, it was the others' decisions as well. This brought a small smile to her face, giving her a sense of control over the bastard.

"Oh… so… you're dependent on me, huh?" she teased. "Little old me, huh?"

Dhelmise snorted. "As if. The only thing you have control over is who comes to the final three with me…"

Hakamo-o's confident sneer immediately turned into a frown. Dhelmise could always find a way to piss her off and strip her of any and all confidence she had.

"So, you have to ask yourself, which do you desire more?" Dhelmise started. "Do you enjoy your friends more… or would you rather win?"

Hakamo-o slashed at him out of anger, which he promptly dodged by swinging out of the way. "Nice try…" he mocked. "It was a serious question, but I should've known your pea brain wouldn't be able to comprehend…"

Hakamo-o snarled at the annoying anchor. "Get the fuck out of here…"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna get some breakfast and hang out here…" Dhelmise replied, unfazed by her anger. "You're free to get the fuck out of here, though…"

Twitching, the Scaly Pokemon grabbed her plate and stomped out of the cafe. Dhelmise chortled to himself. "Now, I wait for the results…"

 **000**

" **It's way too easy to get under her and Incineroar's skin," Dhelmise stated. "With me being safe until the stupid hosts decide to stop with the filler challenges and actually do eliminations, I'm gonna see if I can eat at these losers' psyche. Tsareena is an easy out, but then there's a major choice to be made for the three stooges…"**

" **Who do they get rid of?"**

" **It'll be very humorous to see their sadness and anger. Well, Incineroar and Hakamo-o's at least. Lycanroc is ehhh…"**

 **000**

After approximately eleven hours, Hakamo-o, Incineroar, and Lycanroc met up on the seventh floor. The three of them had spent the majority of the day hanging out in Incineroar's room and watching a few other shows that were going on.

"So, that dick head really sent you a letter?" Incineroar questioned, having just seen the newest episode of Victini's show with the girls.

Lycanroc nodded. "Yeah, I wrote a response to him to let him know that there's no hard feelings…"

"No hard feelings?!" Incineroar bellowed. "He-"

Lycanroc gave the Heel Pokemon a stern look, as if telling him to let it go. If she was perfectly fine at this point, he should be too. "Incineroar… I thought we talked about this…"

The tiger sighed. "Yeah, but I can't help it! That bastard injured you and put you into a borderline depression!"

"Incineroar… it's okay," Lycanroc giggled, stroking the fire- and dark-type's fur. "Don't think of the past. Focus on the future…"

"Easier said than done when there's a constant reminder," Incineroar countered, gently rubbing Lycanroc's stomach, where the scar was.

Hakamo-o had remained silent throughout the entire 'Total Pokemon' binge. What Dhelmise had talked to her about in the cafe was still eating at her, and watching these shows didn't help her thoughts at all. Everything the Arceus-damned Sea Creeper said, it was true. No matter what happened, one of them would end up getting eliminated before the final three.

She let out a depressed sigh, getting the attention of the other two, who looked to her in concern.

"What's up, Haka?" Lycanroc queried.

"Dhelmise…" Hakamo-o replied exasperatedly.

Incineroar growled. "What did that bastard say?"

"He was talking about how I'm gonna have to choose which of you I want to keep in the game because Tsareena is an easy out…" Hakamo-o replied. "It's bothering me…"

"How come?" Lycanroc asked, a bit perplexed. "It's true. We're gonna have to either come to an agreement or hope that there isn't an automatic elimination like the other shows have…"

"Plus, who's to even say that tonight's challenge is even gonna be an elimination challenge?" Incineroar replied. "They didn't have anything in the past two challenges, so there's probably not gonna be one tonight, either…"

"CONTESTANTS! COME ON DOWN! IT'S TIME FOR THE NEXT CHALLENGE!"

"Well, we're about to see, now aren't we?" Hakamo-o replied as she rose up from Incineroar's couch.

 **000**

The doors of the elevator opened, allowing Hakamo-o, Lycanroc, and Incineroar to enter the lobby and meet Lunala at the doors. Much to their surprise, somewhat, Tsareena was already there, her arms folded.

Upon seeing the three approaching, and no sign of Dhelmise, Lunala greeted them. "Hello you four, I hope that all has been going w-"

Dhelmise floated down from the ceiling abruptly. "Alright you overgrown Zubat, is tonight's challenge an elimination challenge or not?" he interrupted abrasively.

Lunala tightened a glare toward the Sea Creeper due to his sudden interruption of her greeting. She too a breath. "It's an elimination challenge, dipshit. You're free to stay behind."

"Oh-ho no, I've gotta see this…" Dhelmise chortled. "This is going to be amazing to watch…"

"I really wish you didn't exist…" Hakamo-o groaned.

"And you also wish that you had Lucario sitting on your face, right?" Dhelmise retorted flatly.

Hakamo-o attempted to attack the anchor for bringing up the Aura Pokemon, but Lycanroc held her back. It really wasn't worth it.

Lunala took a breath again. She _really_ didn't want to deal with Dhelmise or his non-existent mouth. She shouldn't have made the automatic final three reward a thing; she was seriously rethinking her choices.

"Alright, let's head out to tonight's destination before I suffer a brain aneurysm…" Lunala said through grit teeth.

"Then quit yapping and start teleporting," Dhelmise stated. "Geez, you two are as bad as those non-legendaries at hosting these shits…"

"OKAY, THAT'S IT!" Lunala screeched, causing the others to cover their ears. "TALK DOWN TO ME OR SOLGALEO AGAIN AND YOUR PLACEMENT'S BEING REVOKED YOU PIECE OF SHIT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Dhelmise was unfazed, but decided to keep his mouth closed.

 **000**

" **I finally struck a nerve," Dhelmise stated. "They, well** _ **she**_ **, finally gained a pair!"**

 **000**

"Now, let's get to our location on Melemele Island," Lunala announced, her anger slowly dissipating.

A blue aura surrounded the six of them before they teleported away.

 **000**

The six of them appeared on a craggy mountainous area, where a sign pointed toward a large cave-like tunnel. Looking around, there was a bit more land and a bridge on the contestants' left side, and a more mountain-like area on the left side, along with a cliff area.

"Welcome to Route 3…" Lunala introduced.

"Uh… we're doing our challenge on a route?" Incineroar questioned. "That doesn't sound practical in the slightest."

"Neither does gay sex…" Dhelmise retorted.

Incineroar clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles while glaring daggers at the Sea Creeper.

"Well, no," Lunala continued, ignoring the interaction between the two. "Today's challenges are centered around Melemele Meadows, the Seaward Cave, and Kala'e Bay."

"Okay, so why are we on Route 3, then?" Hakamo-o queried.

"Because your first challenge is going to be to _find_ the entrance to Seaward Cave," Lunala explained. "Melemele Meadow is a lush field filled with vibrant yellow flowers and other Pokemon, as well as a few normal pathways. Hidden somewhere in the meadow, however, is a relatively small opening that leads to Seaward Cave."

"The first one to find the opening wins an advantage in the second part of the challenge," Lunala explained. "It should prove easy enough…"

"Yeah, probably _too_ easy," Hakamo-o opined. "Lycanroc lives on this island! She practically knows where the cave is, already."

Lunala rose a brow. "Is this true, Lycanroc?"

"Well, I haven't been in the cave or the bay ever since I was a Rockruff, but I think I still kinda remember where it is…" Lycanroc said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Though I'm not sure…"

"That doesn't sound like practicality to me, Hakamo-o," Lunala replied. She looked up at the sky "Plus, it's rather dark at this time, so I don't think that she'll be able to identify the opening as easy as you think…"

Hakamo-o simply folded her arms in response.

"Now, on my call, you four will run into the meadows and search for the Seaward Cave opening," Lunala explained. "Myself and… _it_ will be waiting on the inside of the cave to greet the winner."

Dhelmise rolled his non-existent eyes at the lame insult. However, due to the threat of immunity termination, Dhelmise remained silent.

"In… three… two… one… GO!" Lunala bellowed.

Incineroar, Hakamo-o, and Lycanroc ran into the cave tunnel, leading them to the meadow. Tsareena followed shortly after, much to Dhelmise's surprise.

"Huh, the ditz is actually doing something right," he commented.

Lunala didn't respond to him and simply teleported herself to the cave. Dhelmise groaned. "Yeah, that's mature," he grumbled to himself as he vanished.

 **000**

Upon entering the meadows, Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Incineroar grouped together, while Tsareena went about on her own.

The Fruit Pokemon, having seen them group together, could infer that they were going to try to figure out which of them would get the immunity if they were to work together.

Due to this being an elimination challenge, she needed to work hard. She had decided to allow herself to simply participate normally in challenges and not say anything. It'd be much easier.

"Hmm, now if I remember correctly," the Fruit Pokemon said as she leapt off of a raised platform and into the lemon-colored flora. She began walking toward the rocky wall on the opposite side of the meadow. "The cavern should be around here somewhere," she said, placing her arms onto the wall and beginning to feel around.

The craggy feeling of the wall was expected by her, as a cave was connected to the meadow after all.

 **-000-**

Glancing over, Incineroar noticed what Tsareena was doing. He raised a brow in interest before turning back to the girls. "Uh, so I think that we may need to hurry up before Tsareena accidentally finds the entrance."

"Okay, well since Lycanroc is the one who seems to semi-know where it is, I feel that she should get the advantage," Incineroar stated matter-of-factly.

Lycanroc sighed. "Incineroar, it's fine. Whoever finds it, finds it. I don't remember specifically where it is, but Tsareena has the right idea."

"It's getting pretty dark, so she may just be using it as a way to get around," Hakamo-o opined, having no confidence in Tsareena's abilities.

Incineroar folded his arms before eyeing the Fruit Pokemon again as she continued moving along the wall, feeling around. "Well, I don't think we need to keep standing here. Let's hurry up and try to find the cave entrance."

Lycanroc nodded in agreement before a faint memory entered her mind. She recalled that the cavern that she entered as a child was rather small and was settled against the craggy wall. "Tsareena has the right idea at this point. I just remembered that the cavern is along that wall somewhere…"

Hakamo-o immediately leapt off of the platform and into the flowers before rushing toward Tsareena's direction without saying another word.

Lycanroc hopped down after, with Incineroar leaping down and sprinting toward the wall on all fours, surprising the Wolf Pokemon thoroughly. She held back a laugh and leisurely strolled through the lush, flourishing flowers.

She looked around the meadow, having not been around this place in the longest time. The sweet aroma of the flowers comforted her vastly. She recalled her grandma giving her a single flower from this meadow to make her feel better when her mom was in the hospital.

Being around all of the flowers was bringing a sense of calmness over her as a smile appeared on her face. As she gazed back upward and over to the others, she jumped back in surprise upon seeing Incineroar right next to her.

Seeing her jump, Incineroar placed a gentle paw on her shoulder. "Whoa, are you okay?"

Lycanroc panted softly before giggling. "Y-yeah, you just scared me a bit is all…"

Incineroar ruffled her fur playfully. "Well, Hakamo-o found the entrance," the tiger explained, gesturing over to their scaly friend, who was starting to crawl through the tunnel.

"Alright, good, let's get going," Lycanroc replied, as she moved over toward the wall, as Tsareena got onto her knees to crawl after Hakamo-o.

The wolf and tiger headed toward the small opening.

 **000**

As Lycanroc crawled through the rough tunnel, she heard Lunala speaking. Arriving on the opposing side, she saw Hakamo-o and Tsareena standing there in front of Lunala, who was in her Full Moon Phase, illuminating the dark cave.

"Congratulations, Hakamo-o, you're the first one to find this place in the darkness, so you get the advantage for this next challenge," Lunala expressed her joy for the Scaly Pokemon.

Hakamo-o smiled and nodded, while Tsareena kept her composure, despite being rather angry.

"The challenge wasn't even all that hard…" Dhelmise opined. "Literally, all they had to do was find a hole in the wall…"

"What did I-"

"I was criticizing the challenge, not your hosting skills, so you can't get mad," Dhelmise exploited a loophole in what she said.

Incineroar popped his head into the Seaward Cave and attempted to pull himself through, however, he found himself getting stuck due to his large upper body. The Heel Pokemon growled as he yanked his arms through and attempted to push against the wall in order to get inside. As he struggled, he roared in frustration.

"Come on!" he bellowed in discomfort, his torso scraping against the rough edges of the tunnel.

"Wow. Gay, a hot-head, and now a fatass," Dhelmise commented. "You're really adding onto your list of shitty traits…"

Incineroar glowered at the Sea Creeper Pokemon. He immediately attempted to blast a Flamethrower at the one who had harassed and irritated him to no end. Unfortunately for him, he dodged it.

"Nice try, nimrod. Aim better and maybe you'll actually accomplish something…" Dhelmise jeered.

Incineroar growled, attempting to yank himself through, a few cracks being heard.

"That's right keep pulling, your pain in humorous. I'm sure you make those same pained expressions when you're getting your ass torn apart by your dumb boyfriend. Seriously, what idiot has standards so low that he would want to date an ill-tempered, insecure pussy who knows damn well that his existence is only meant to offend normal, _straight_ people?"

"Dhelmise!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, glaring at him as Lycanroc gaped in disbelief.

Incineroar snapped, that was the final straw. He roared furiously, successfully pulling himself through with indignation. Hakamo-o, Tsareena, and Lycanroc jumped back as the infuriated tiger charged toward Dhelmise. He grabbed hold of the male's shank before lifting him up and preparing to slam him into the ground like a hammer. However, he phased out of Incineroar's grasp before that could even happen.

"There. He's out of the hole. Now, let's move on with the next challenge…" Dhelmise responded, apathetic about what he said, as if he did no wrong.

Incineroar was fed up with the ghost- and grass-type's constant barrage of homophobic remarks and slurs, as well as all of the insults that spewed from his non-existent mouth in general. Now that he brought up Lucario… he was a dead boy. Not man, _boy_.

His brows were furrowed as he glowered at his target murderously. He was huffing, his fists clenched so tight that he was puncturing his own palms with his claws.

Lunala was a bit taken aback by the events that just transpired before her; she was actually looking forward to seeing if Incineroar would actually pummel Dhelmise to a pulp. Sadly, after seeing Dhelmise escape his grasp, she knew that it wasn't going to happen. "Well, let's get this next challenge started shall we?"

Lycanroc had her paws placed on Incineroar's chests, attempting to calm him down. However, Incineroar wasn't calming down, his murderous eyes remained glued onto Dhelmise's form.

"Throughout Seaward Cave, there are statues in the forms of your fellow eliminated contestants, as well as a few legendaries," Lunala explained. "You are required to smash the statues in order to look for a key. Only four out of the twenty-four statues hold keys. Once you retrieve a key, you must head out onto Kala'e Bay, where you will find ten treasure chests. Then, all you have to do is choose a chest. But, choose wisely, as two of the chests hold invincibility from tonight's vote."

Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Tsareena exchanged looks, while Incineroar was still focused on Dhelmise.

"Any extra precautions or rules?" Hakamo-o queried.

"No, this is essentially a free-for-all, so do whatever you feel that you need to," Lunala explained. "And, since you got here first, Hakamo-o, you get to choose _three_ chests when you find your key."

Hakamo-o smiled. "Nice!"

Tsareena rolled her eyes, while Lycanroc looked proud.

 **000**

" **This… should prove to be very interesting," Tsareena commented.**

 **000**

"Alright, challenge begins in three… two… one… GO!" Lunala announced.

Immediately, Hakamo-o started rushing down the path. Tsareena blinked before taking her time and walking down after her.

"Incineroar… come on…" Lycanroc said, gently pushing him back as he growled throatily while glaring at Dhelmise. "Incineroar!"

The tiger slowly glanced down at Lycanroc, who had a very concerned expression on her face. He glanced back up at Dhelmise, who wasn't even bothering to look back at him. Incineroar started walking away, much to Lycanroc's happiness.

 **000**

Tsareena walked down the path and immediately saw Hakamo-o using Brick Break on a statue of Drampa that was almost immediately to the right after entering far enough into the cave.

As the Scaly Pokemon did that, Tsareena scoped the cave. Jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling, a few of them dripping water onto the smooth rocky surface underneath. From where she was currently standing, she saw a small pond with a Pyukumuku statue sitting in it. She then looked over to her left and saw a pathway leading downwards, as well as further paths with statues sitting on them.

Seeing that Hakamo-o was almost finished with the Drampa statue, and hearing Lycanroc and Incineroar approaching behind her, Tsareena decided to take the left slope down.

"Let's see what we have here," she said to herself as she headed down. Turning her head, she saw two more large water pools, each with statues inside. The furthest one had a Manaphy and the closest one had a Phione.

Tsareena hurried down before looking back up and noticing that Incineroar and Lycanroc were starting to head down.

Quickly, she used Trop Kick on the Phione statue, causing a lot of gravel and statue pieces to fly in different directions, with a good portion of them staying in the water. Using Trop Kick a few more times, the statue was fully down. "Come on…" she said as she started searching through the rocks.

Lycanroc and Incineroar had both made it down and were heading toward the Manaphy statue. Tsareena acted fast and hopped up onto the higher pool, using Trop Kick on the statue of the Seafaring Pokemon as well before her competitors even had a crack at it.

"Tsareena? Do you even know what you're doing?" Incineroar queried, expecting a poor response.

"Breaking things. Looking for a key," she responded simply as she stomped on the statue to crack and shatter it further.

The two were surprised to hear her actually respond with that. They exchanged looks.

"Uh… alright then," Incineroar responded, a bit perturbed. He and Lycanroc proceeded down the next path, which had a Gumshoos statue sitting there. Tsareena smirked to herself, seeing them leave as she continued smashing the statue.

 **-000-**

As the two walked toward it, Lycanroc decided to talk to Incineroar about what had just occurred. The two had remained in silence, with the smaller wolf holding the Heel Pokemon's hand and leading him forward.

"You doing okay?" Lycanroc queried as Incineroar continued strolling forward before stopping in front of the statue of the wannabe investigator.

In response, Incineroar struck the statue with his fist, hitting it right in the 'stomach'. His fist was about six inches into the statue and cracks were starting to spread across. Incineroar withdrew his arm before using his other arm and striking it again.

"Incineroar?"

Incineroar took a breath, withdrawing his other arm. "No, I'm not okay. I'm fucking sick and tired of that motherfucker Dhelmise constantly talking shit to me. I've never really pissed off around here unless that piece of shit is talking!" he roared. "I want to end him…"

Understanding his issues, Lycanroc hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I know that a hug won't make your feelings go away, but just try to control yourself. I didn't like how you were looking at him earlier…"

Incineroar glanced to the side. If Dhelmise was going to continuously belittle him, at this point, he wasn't willing to take it. "I don't think I can promise that," he replied, rubbing her back. "At this point, he's asking for it. Him talking about _my_ Lucario like that and insulting me further… he knows what he's doing."

"He _wants_ you to be like this-"

"Why are you guys just standing here?" they heard. Turning around, they saw Hakamo-o coming over, shaking her hands to allow dust to scatter off. "There are like over thirty more statues that need to be broken!"

Incineroar punched the Gumshoos statue once more, causing the cracks to spread further. He continued punching it before it finally crumbled, revealing no key.

Looking down past it, the three of them looked in shock, seeing that six more statues had been broken, making it unable to tell who it was a statue _of_. They saw Tsareena rush toward a statue of Victini and kick its head off with a Trop Kick.

"Uh… is it just me, or is Tsareena acting weird?" Hakamo-o queried as the Fruit Pokemon continued kicking the statue of the Victory Pokemon, eventually shattering the middle of it.

"Hey, maybe she finally understands her surroundings," Lycanroc expressed her amazement. "That's good…"

"No… that's bad," Hakamo-o replied. "If she's finally gaining sentience, then that means she could _actually_ be a threat! We need to do something."

"Do what? Throw a rock at her?" Incineroar questioned rhetorically. He then folded his arms. "Plus, we each have a two in seven chance to get immunity since you get to choose three chests."

Upon being reminded of that, a thought entered Lycanroc's head. "Wait, what happens if you get both immunities?"

Hakamo-o honestly didn't think about that chance. She had just hoped that she'd get at least one! "Well, I think if that's the case, Lunala will let me give it to… one of you…"

Lycanroc and Incineroar exchanged looks as Hakamo-o rubbed her arm sheepishly.

"Well, that should be easy as all hell," Incineroar said with a shrug. "If that happens, just give it to Lycanroc and we'll vote for Tsareena…"

Lycanroc facepalmed herself. "Come on. I appreciate it, but I don't need-"

"Ah-" Incineroar interrupted, raising a hand. "You're gonna take it and like it…"

Lycanroc playfully rolled her eyes before looking back down and seeing that Tsareena was gone and that there were still numerous statues up. Her eyes widened. "Uh… Tsareena's gone."

Incineroar and Hakamo-o looked back over and saw that the Fruit Pokemon was indeed gone. "FUCK!" they both exclaimed.

 **000**

 **Tsareena clicked her non-visible mouth. "They should have been more focused on the challenge at hand. Their sudden, and I mean** _ **sudden**_ **, need to try and plan everything so that they each benefit is only going to bite them in their butts."**

 **000**

"Well, let's just hope that the chest she chooses isn't a good one…" Incineroar commented.

"You morons seriously let the _brainless_ _ditz_ find a key before you?!" Dhelmise chastised as he floated down toward them. "Jeez! Just when I thought my expectations couldn't get any lower!"

Incineroar gained an evil grin as he turned to him and cracked his knuckles.

"Oh boy, hot pussy is back in action," Dhelmise drawled. "Listen, instead of getting your rocks off from the sight of me, maybe you, tweedle-dee, and tweedle-dum should focus on the challenge and get your damn keys…"

"Okay anchor boy, why don't you go drown yourself outside or something instead of talk more shit?!" Hakamo-o growled as she started walking toward the Passimian statue sitting on the left path.

"And why don't you see if that statue will give the rock hard treatment you desired when he was there?" Dhelmise retorted.

Incineroar immediately blasted a Flamethrower at the Sea Creeper Pokemon before his attention was back on him and Lycanroc. His attack hit, sending Dhelmise to the ground. With a roar, Incineroar pounced on the fallen anchor and began using Shadow Claw repeatedly.

"Incineroar, NO!" Lycanroc yelled as she rushed toward him and hopped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, making Incineroar rise up.

Instantaneously, Dhelmise phased into the ground before rising back in front of the two of them, as if he was unscathed. Incineroar growled. "Lycanroc… get off…" Incineroar's face twisted in a furious expression.

"Incineroar, I'm not gonna let you-"

Dhelmise's compass glowed before he floated upwards. All of the water from the pools behind him began to bubble before it started to rise and join together to form a massive wave.

Incineroar and Lycanroc both gaped.

"Have a nice swim," Dhelmise said with his same monotonous tone. Using Surf, the two started to run, only for the wave to crash into them, sending them into the walls on the opposite side of the cave, Hakamo-o watched it unfold and gaped as the two were struck by the wave, and being that they were both weak against water, it did a _vast_ amount of damage to them.

"WHAT THE HELL, DHELMISE?!" Hakamo-o roared as she stopped breaking the Passimian statue.

"Hey, he attacked me first!" Dhelmise replied. "What? I can't retaliate?"

Hakamo-o growled, hopping off of the ledge and landing on the now moist cave floor. She hurried over to the two of them. Incineroar was starting to get up, holding his head. He got onto his feet as his blurred vision slowly became more focused.

He growled before he turned to the side and saw Lycanroc slowly getting onto her feet, albeit rather shakily. "Lycanroc!" he exclaimed as he rushed over to her and picked her up, putting her over his shoulder in a hug.

Coughing, the wolf pat his back. "Incineroar, put me down…"

Obliging, he did so quickly as she caught her breath. "This is… another reason...why I don't like actual fights…"

"I'm so sorry about that…" Incineroar apologized. "I didn't think that bastard would willingly attack you, too!"

Lycanroc sighed. "It's alright. I was bound to get my blow to my self-worth sooner or later…"

Hearing her say that so casually shocked both Incineroar and Hakamo-o. She then moved toward the Bewear statue that was sitting in the corner of the cave.

"Wait, wait… Lycanroc, are you sure you're okay?" Hakamo-o asked, running up and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah… fine," Lycanroc simply replied as she went up to the statue of the Strong Arm Pokemon. Her paws glowed as she jumped up and used Brick Break, shattering the statue. Much to her surprise, there was a key inside of the statue. "Wow, I was expecting to come up with nothing…" she said as she picked up the key.

"Wait… Lycanroc, how were you able to-"

Lycanroc tossed the key in her direction before she could even finish her query. Hakamo-o caught it and looked at her friend in confusion. Why was she giving away a major component of the challenge, knowing that she could get her own?

"Lycanroc… why'd you give me this?" she asked.

"I just want this challenge to end now…" Lycanroc replied, not looking in their direction as she moved toward the next statue, which was of Mudsdale.

"Okay, this isn't right," Incineroar responded, walking up to her. Just as Lycanroc was about to use Brick Break on the statue of the selfish sexaholic, Incineroar picked her up from behind by her waist. He brought the wolf back over toward Hakamo-o and put her down.

"Why'd you do that?"

"You are _not_ fine…" Hakamo-o replied, her arms folded. "It's like every time you get hurt in some way shape or form now, you just shut down."

"And what was that thing you said about self-worth earlier?" Incineroar asked in concerning interest.

Sighing, Lycanroc explained. "Dhelmise just takes jabs at personal characteristics of others and attempts to cause damage to their self-worth and image…"

Incineroar and Hakamo-o exchanged looks.

"Uh… no," Dhelmise said, floating down before them all, immediately resulting in savage growled from Hakamo-o and Incineroar.

"FUCK OFF!" Incineroar snapped. "YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE!"

"First off, _you_ attacked _me,_ so you brought the Surf onto yourself," Dhelmise replied. "Secondly, my apologies, Lycanroc, but you were just damaged goods in that situation. Thirdly, I insult others because it's funny to me and it's easy."

"Don't you have anything better to do?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Well, given how you guys are doing in this challenge, I should have just stayed back at the hotel. All you three have done is flap your gums over irrelevant shit and distract yourselves from the challenge," Dhelmise replied. "If I wanted to watch a shit ton of talking and mild action, I'd watch a soap opera or something…"

"Then leave!" Incineroar growled. "Nobody wants you here!"

"Hush…" Dhelmise replied. "Now. You have another key, which is good, so get the fuck back to the challenge because this is boring as all hell to me…"

"LUNALA!" Hakamo-o shouted. "CAN YOU PLEASE TELL THIS BASTARD TO LEAVE US ALONE?!"

"THIS IS TYPICAL COMPETITION SHIT!" Dhelmise yelled back.

Lunala appeared before the four of them, as Tsareena ingressed back into the cave from outside to check and see what was taking the others so long.

"What is the issue, here?" Lunala queried, having been holding an ice pack to her head back at the hall, while checking on the live feed from time to time. After hearing her name be shouted as she went back to check, she teleported back.

"Dhelmise is fucking insufferable! That's the issue!" Incineroar exploded. "He just used Surf on me and Lycanroc and now she's acting weird!"

"That was retaliation, you big baby. You hit me with super effective moves, so I did it back. Boo-hoo for you, your brain is so small that you actually listen to what I say. Not my fault…"

"I WILL END YOU!" Incineroar yelled, lunging toward him, only for him to teleport out of the way.

"Remember, the results of your last attack on me is right next to you, so I suggest you tone it down…" Dhelmise replied, gesturing to Lycanroc, who was starting to walk back toward the statues.

"Alright, how many keys have been found?" Lunala pried.

"Well, Tsareena has one and Lycanroc just gave me-"

"Okay, half of them are found," Lunala replied. "All you have to do is find the other two and the challenge will be over. Just hurry."

"We would if Dhelmise would just shut the hell up!" Incineroar exclaimed.

"As if my voice is actually distracting…" Dhelmise replied, rolling his non-existent eyes yet again.

Lycanroc walked over with another key. She had just smashed the Mudsdale statue and came up empty. Following that one, she went to the Shaymin statue and used Brick Break again. This time, she had found a key.

Holding one of the silver keys, Lycanroc opened Incineroar's fist and placed the key inside before closing it back up.

"See!" Incineroar exclaimed as Lycanroc went back toward the statues.

"Pipe… down…" Dhelmise stated, getting irritated from the tiger's excessive complaining. "Unlike you two, she's actually doing the challenge at hand!"

Lunala twitched. "Dhelmise… shut up."

"Alright, now I just need to get my own key and we can get on with this challenge…" Lycanroc said to herself.

Lunala groaned. "Dhelmise, why is it that ever since you got immunity, the challenges have gone poorly? Oh yeah… YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT!"

"Oh boo-hoo," Dhelmise replied. "Solgaleo's challenge was boring and stupid to begin with, so you can't blame that on me, and this challenge isn't my fault because these morons can't keep their mouths closed to just get on with it!"

"Bastard! You made me burn up the flowers last time. That made the challenge end!"

"You're the one who burned them th-"

"QUIET!" Hakamo-o exclaimed before folding her arms.

"Okay, that's it. Dhelmise, following this challenge, you are no longer part of the final three. Your constant cocky behavior and lack of empathy for others is irritating, aggravating, and warrants an ass kicking…"

"So… for enforcing my right to free speech, I lose my reward that I earned?" Dhelmise rhetorically queried. "Okay… enjoy being sued for censorship when I get eliminated. Trash talk is typical competitive behavior…"

"Yeah yeah yeah, shove it up your ass…" Lunala replied.

"Nice maturit-"

"SHUT UP, DHELMISE!" Incineroar and Hakamo-o both exclaimed.

Lycanroc, after breaking a Cosmoem statue, retrieved the final key and started heading down.

Tsareena, watching the whole scene unfold, shook her head in disappointment.

 **000**

" **It hurts to see so much passionate hatred, but it is also wonderful that Dhelmise lost his power," Tsareena explained. "I'm surprised the correlation wasn't clear to them. With him being immune, he felt like he can do whatever he wants with no consequence, hence the increase in wretched remarks and actions toward** _ **everyone**_ **."**

" **Sadly, he is still immune for this challenge, but at least he was successfully knocked down a peg…"**

 **000**

"Alright, all keys are present," Lunala announced. "Let's head out into the darkness of Kala'e Bay and get these chests open."

 **000**

Heading outside, the competitors saw ten treasure chests sitting on the ground. The chests were all made out of wood, with metal covered edges. They each had a number painted on their rather poorly.

"Alright, Hakamo-o, since you get three choices, go ahead and begin your choices," Lunala spoke. "Every chest has something useful, or at the very least, enjoyable."

Hakamo-o didn't feel like she earned this key, as Lycanroc glumly retrieved every key with the exception of Tsareena's. Nevertheless, she approached the line of chests. After looking them all over, she placed her key into the fifth one.

Opening it, she saw a fruit basket sitting inside of it. "Hmm, not bad, I guess…" he said as she took it out of the chest and closed it.

The chest promptly disappeared. When that happened, Hakamo-o decided to go to the first chest. Inserting the key into the lock, she was a bit nervous, hoping that immunity was there.

Opening the chest, she saw that a Z-Phone 9X was inside of it. Her yes widened as she took it out. "A Z-Phone 9?! This hasn't even come out yet!"

Lunala nodded. "Like I said, useful or enjoyable…"

"Hey, now you can make your booty calls while feeling like a fancy bitch…" Dhelmise commented, earning him a glare from the Scaly Pokemon.

"You're fucking lucky," Incineroar said, folding his arms. "Free fruit and now the newest phone that hasn't even come out yet. If you get something else good, I'm gonna be pissed off…"

Hakamo-o took out the phone and closed the chest, which disappeared like the previous one.

She looked over the other chests and decided to go to the tenth one. That way, she'd have one of the middle two, the front, and back of the line of chests.

Walking down to the tenth chest, she inserted her key and opened the chest. Inside of the chest was just a large bag of potato chips and a two liter of Ginger Ale.

Hakamo-o sighed. "Well, better than nothing," she said as she took out the treats. "Sucks that I didn't get the immunity…"

"You didn't deserve it anyway," Dhelmise commented, earning swipe from her.

"Alright, Tsareena, your turn…" Lunala said.

Tsareena blinked and headed toward the chests. Incineroar and Hakamo-o crossed their fingers and hoped that the ditz didn't get immunity.

Tsareena dropped to her knees in front of the second chest. She purposely fumbled with the key before finally getting it inside and trying to open the case.

"Twist the key, dumbass!"

Tsareena continued trying to open the case without twisting the key to throw them off a bit. With a sigh, Lunala turned the key in its lock, allowing Tsareena to open the chest.

Inside of the chest was a card.

"Paper?" she asked as she took it out.

Lunala's eyes widened. "No, uh… that's immunity."

The others gaped, while Tsareena showed no emotion, as she actually suspected that this chest had immunity. She didn't expect to be right!

"Is that good?"

"Yes. That means that they can't vote for you…"

Tsareena blinked as the chest disappeared. Dhelmise erupted in laughter. "Wow! Looks like one of you three losers is gonna be screwed!"

Incineroar clenched his fists. "Good, because that just means that we'll be free from your bullshit!"

Lycanroc decided to go up to the chests next. She went up to the fourth chest and unlocked it. Opening the chest, she found the same card that Tsareena had gotten. She rose a brow and let out a sigh.

"Congratulations Lycanroc, you have received the second immunity!" Lunala cheered.

Lycanroc looked at the card. "Could I give this away?"

"NO!" she heard from the others.

Lycanroc couldn't help but to giggle at their immediate response. But then she made the realization that one of her best friends had a fifty-fifty chance of going. She let out a depressed sigh as the chest disappeared.

She headed back to the others and Incineroar rubbed her head. "Do I still need to choose one or can we just go and get this bullshit over with?"

"I mean, I'm sure that there's still some good stuff inside, but it's your choice…" Lunala said with a shrug.

Incineroar sighed before deciding to go over to the eighth chest. He placed the key inside and opened it up. Inside, he saw five tickets. Raising a brow, he took them out.

"Ooh, the second best prize, in my opinion, anyway," Lunala announced. "Five tickets to an all expense paid Five Star Luxury Cruise Liner!"

"Boat stuff. Wooo…" Dhelmise drawled.

"This… this is incredible!" Incineroar exclaimed.

Tsareena, despite feeling a bit jealous, couldn't help but feel happy that both Incineroar and Hakamo-o received good items. At least they wouldn't go home empty-handed after making it so far.

"Alright, let's get back to the hotel and get the voting over with…" Lunala announced. The blue aura surrounded the six of them and they were teleported away.

 **000**

 **Lycanroc sighed in the confessional. "This… this isn't fair. I can't vote for either of them! I'd rather just vote myself out then eliminate them. They've been there for me. We all bonded…"**

" **This just isn't right…"**

 **000**

"Alright," Lunala started. "The votes have been tallied, and I have to say, I'm a bit touched. You each voted for yourself, with the exception of Dhelmise…"

Everyone's eyes widened, minus Dhelmise who snickered. "Pathetic…"

"So, that means that both Tsareena and Lycanroc's votes cancelled out due to their immunity…"

 **000**

" **I… I'm voting for myself. I can't do this…" Lycanroc said, covering her face.**

 **000**

" **The vote is inevitable, and knowing that those three are too close at this point to vote for each other, I won't arouse any suspicions and stay out of it," Tsareena explained, her legs crossed.**

 **000**

"That means that… Dhelmise had the deciding vote," Lunala said in an annoyed tone.

Incineroar and Hakamo-o glared daggers at the Sea Creeper Pokemon, who chortled.

"Yep, so bye bye, ya big pussy. Go back to your ugly boyfriend with low standards and suck him off to your heart's content…"

Lycanroc growled; she was already upset that one of them was going, and now Dhelmise is _still_ talking trash?! "Shut up, Dhelmise, just SHUT UP!" she barked angrily. " He's already been eliminated, so you don't have to keep talking shit to him as if he did something to you! Is your life that insignificant that you have to talk down, annoy, and hurt the feelings of those around you to stay relevant?! LEARN TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND MAYBE PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY LIKE YOU!" she yelled, tears starting to pour down her face.

Everyone was shocked to have heard that come from her mouth. Incineroar hugged her as she cried into his chest.

"Like I said in the cave, it's just fun for me," Dhelmise chortled. "I couldn't care less about how you people or anyone else sees me. And what's funny is that you said my life is insignificant, yet you and your friends here get mad and yell at me… _giving_ me significance. Kinda contradicting yours-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Hakamo-o yelled as she ran over and attempted to use Dragon Claw.

Dhelmise dodged it. "You guys are such losers…" he said. "Anyways, I'm going to bed, seeya never…"

The Sea Creeper Pokemon teleported away.

"Alright Incineroar, it's time to go…"

Lycanroc sniffled as she moved away from the tiger and rubbed her back. "Hey, it'll be okay, Lycanroc. You still have Hakamo-o here. And since Dhelmise doesn't have immunity anymore, you can take him out. I'm sure of it."

Lycanroc turned to Hakamo-o, who nodded.

The three started walking toward the docking area. Tsareena headed back into the hotel.

 **-000-**

"Well, it's been nice knowing you, Incineroar," Lunala spoke. "You've fared well in the competition, and luckily, you have five tickets for a cruise."

"Back at you," Incineroar replied. "Well, minus the competition part anyway…"

Hakamo-o and Lycanroc both hugged him. "See ya, ya big lug…" Lycanroc replied, rubbing her eyes.

"We may not have gotten along _that_ fast, but I'm happy to have you as a friend," Hakamo-o replied with a smile.

Incineroar smiled back. "I'll miss you girls. I hope that one of you wins…"

"Hopefully one of us does…" Hakamo-o replied. "I don't really care who wins as long as Dhelmise doesn't."

Lycanroc nodded. "I'll try my best…"

Incineroar chuckled as the boat pulled up. "And there's my ride. I'll see you guys later. If you ever want to visit, remember I'm on Ula'Ula near the Haina Desert."

The girls nodded.

The boat started speeding away. Lycanroc looked down at the water, sad. She felt an arm drape around her shoulder and turned to Hakamo-o, who gave her a confident grin.

"We'll be fine," the Scaly Pokemon said.

Lycanroc nodded as they started heading back to the hotel.

As they left, Lunala sighed. "And there you have it. Incineroar's the next one gone. Dhelmise is completely insufferable; hopefully they're able to take him out in the next challenge. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, even though I certainly didn't, and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon… Alola!"

 **000**

 **DON'T KILL ME! Yeah… Incineroar's gone now. It sucks, but at least he won something and doesn' have to deal with Dhelmise anymore. Lycanroc finally gained some confidence to talk back to Dhelmise, which is always nice. Tsareena is still being the analyst. Seriously, what** _ **is**_ **she?! You have to feel bad for everyone dealing with Dhelmise. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon… Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Review and I'll murder Dhelmise when and if he gets eliminated!" Incineroar grumbled.**

 **000**

 **An Incineroar was sitting on a couch. "Alright hi. You're gonna wanna pick me for your show because I have everything that your show needs."**

" **Intelligence," he said, pointing to his mind.**

" **Strength," he flexed his muscles.**

" **Charisma…" he said, rubbing his chin.**

" **And… uh… shit, I forgot what I was gonna say," Incineroar said, rubbing the back of his head. "But… uh… yeah. I'm gonna try to be in it for the money completely; I don't really expect to make any friends at this show since most of the time people in these shows are jackasses, but if it happens it happens. Who knows?"**


	16. Episode 16: Get Along Little Pokés!

**Alright then…**

 **000**

The time struck six o'clock ante meridiem, signifying that our favorite white lion host was about to awaken from his slumber. With a groggy groan, the Sunne Pokemon opened his eyes and lifted his head from his pillow. He turned and looked at a calendar that he had put up days prior; there were red Xs covering a majority of the date boxes, leading up to a Friday.

Seeing that day, he groaned in exasperation. He never thought that he'd actually _detest_ hosting a show at this point. He always wondered specifically why his fellow legendaries had some sort of boner for causing pain to their competitors, but his sudden vexation gave him an idea. "Maybe that's why the others torture their contestants… frustration," he hypothesized as he stretched, popping his legs.

He got out of his bed and started heading toward his door to get some breakfast. As he headed out, he noticed Raikou heading toward the kitchen below. Way better than Entei...

Heading toward the slide, he started thinking about how today's challenge would probably go, as well as what he was hungry for. They were down to the final four, and they still had five more episodes to go. Going down the slide, he started thinking about what rewards he could give the final four. But then, as he headed into the kitchen, he shrugged.

"Eh, I guess advantages for future challenges will be more than enough," he said to himself as opened the fridge and levitated a box with muffins out of it before placing it on the counter.

He ate one of the Oran Berry muffins inside of the box before putting the box back into the fridge. He walked over to the toaster and opened the cabinets, taking down a box of toaster strudels.

Opening a pack and placing them into the toaster, he began thinking about how he was going to handle the next challenges and decide which ones to make strictly reward based ones. "What am I going to do?" he questioned to himself. "I knew we should have had more non-elimination challenges pre-merge. We wouldn't have to bother with this."

"Bother with what?"

Startled, Solgaleo groaned before turning and seeing Cresselia floating next to him. He was surprised to see her there, as he hardly ever saw her around or talked to her. "Uh, well… it's regarding me and Lunala's show. We have five episodes left and two of them have to be reward challenges... " he explained. "I was essentially just thinking out loud. And uh… where'd you even come from? I didn't hear you get this close."

"I teleported here to toast a bagel…" she replied, showing her sesame bagel. "I guess you were just deep in thought…"

Solgaleo let out a sigh. "Yeah…" he replied.

"What's the matter?" she asked upon hearing that sigh. "Are you not liking your job anymore?"

"Sorta…" Solgaleo replied. "Though it's only one contestant in particular. He's so irritating that everyone in the show hates him and wants him dead and/or gone."

"Okay… so why haven't you eliminated him yet? You guys are the hosts, you can eliminate whoever you want, whenever you want…"

"Yeah, we're aware, but we don't want to be sued…" Solgaleo replied. "Plus, it's not _that_ serious. We just want him to shut the hell up…"

"Okay, then threaten him. Have a backbone," Cresselia stated boldly. "If you show that the contestants get to you, they'll walk all over you, which is what I'm assuming has been happening…"

Solgaleo shuffled his paws as his toaster strudels popped up. "We just don't want to fall into the 'tortuous host' stereotype like a few others have…"

"You can still be nice!" Cresselia responded. "With regards to that one player you're talking about, just how some authority and make him shut the hell up. Then, if he continues, just boot him…"

A small smile formed on Solgaleo's lips. "Thanks…" he replied as he retrieve a paper plate from atop the refrigerator and placed his toaster strudels on it."

Cresselia watched him leave and giggled. "He's so cute; not as cute as Darkie, but… still cute…"

 **000**

Four and a half hours passed

 **000**

Dhelmise yawned as he floated off of his nail in the wall. He felt very satisfied with himself. He had gotten Incineroar eliminated and brought out Lycanroc's fight at the same time. He couldn't help but laugh every time he thought about it. The fact that he can say whatever he wanted and end up pissing off everyone was so great. He never meant _any_ of what he said to anyone, with the exception of Tsareena; that amount of stupidity physically hurt him.

"This is going so well for me…" Dhelmise said to himself. "And Lycanroc's mini-rant just solidifies that I have successfully gotten under everyone's skin, minus Tsareena. Such insecure losers…"

Saturday and Sunday, he received glares from both Hakamo-o and Lycanroc whenever he went down to get food or hang out in the lobby. He rarely saw much of Tsareena, which he actually expected.

Though, given the events of the last challenge, he was a bit on the fence about the ditz. Sure, she was still dumb as a sack of bricks to him, but the fact that she was able to consciously smash over five statues and retrieve a key before the others rose a few questions, but he didn't think much of it.

The Sea Creeper Pokemon decided to head down to the second floor cafe and retrieve a waffle and a few Razz Berries, as he still had water in the mini fridge. He was ready for more glares. He went out of his room and started phasing through the ground.

 **-000-**

He made it to the second floor's hall and started heading to the cafe doors. Peering in through the door windows, he saw that the cafe was vacant. He entered it and went toward the food stations. He floated a plate toward himself and placed a waffle onto it. He then floated over and started placing Razz Berries onto his waffle. He then went over to the syrup station and started pouring Oran Berry glaze over everything.

He went back toward the door and looked at the clock hanging up. "Hmm… it's almost ten. Those ladies should've been down here by now…"

He then assumed that due to the fact that Incineroar was gone, they were just going to sleep in. He didn't really care, though. He wished to get rid of Tsareena or Lycanroc, as their immunity was the only reason Incineroar was gone. If they didn't have anything, Lycanroc would have been gone in a heartbeat.

"Hmm… I wonder what would have happened if I had voted for myself, too?" Dhelmise queried to himself. "Hmm… well, can't really dwell on it now. Sad I can any more gay jokes, but whatever."

He started floating up and through the ceiling.

 **000**

Lycanroc and Hakamo-o were sitting on the seventh floor. Hakamo-o was exercising, something that she hadn't done in a long while. As she moved on the elliptical machine, she gazed over toward the television, and saw that Lycanroc was lying on a bean bag chair, staring down at the ground. Not liking to see her friend in that state, she stopped working out on the machine and hopped off.

"Lycanroc, are you okay?" she asked she approached the Wolf Pokemon.

After a while, she let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just… thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Hakamo-o queried, tilting her head in interest.

Lycanroc sat up. "Nothing in specific, just… in general. I mean, before the whole Charizard thing and this… stupid scar that I have, I was trying to make the best out of everything and have a good time interacting with you guys, but now I just feel like I'm a fraud because I was hiding all of this…"

"I don't even think anyone watching this still likes me at this point…" she finished, hugging her legs.

Hakamo-o rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. She didn't think that Lycanroc had those types of thoughts in her head. It just felt… unnatural.

"Lycanroc, I'm sure that there are dozens upon hundreds of people that still like you," Hakamo-o assured, hugging her. "And… why would you feel like a fraud?" she was mostly perturbed about that comment.

"Because I just feel like I'm getting and going to get sympathy just because of my stupid past that I didn't even want to or try to think about," Lycanroc replied, looking down. "There are thousands upon millions people in the world that have much worse problems than me, and I'm here crying and isolating myself over daddy issues. It's just pathetic..."

"Lycanroc, you are _not_ pathetic," Hakamo-o stated matter-of-factly, a glare appearing on her face. "You had an accident that brought up old wounds that you didn't want to open. You can't let those wounds overtake you and damage your self-image. You're more than that. Look at your scar and take it is an example…"

"An example of what? The result of messing with an angry Charizard?" she queried, attempting to make the conversation a tad bit light-hearted.

"See! You're still joking around despite this!" Hakamo-o expressed her point. "You're a special girl. Your past should not determine how you act now, especially at this point in the game! And the example I was gonna say… was that time heals all wounds. What you went through happened years ago, so come back to reality and become the normal, friendly, and fun Lycanroc that Incineroar and I know and love."

Lycanroc blushed slightly as a small smile appeared on her face. Hakamo-o was right; this wasn't like her. Being depressed for weeks just wasn't in her true character. She turned to her friend and hugged her. "Thanks…" she expressed her gratitude. "You're a great friend…"

Hakamo-o smiled as she hugged her back. "So are you…"

As they retreated from the warm embrace, Lycanroc rose to her feet and popped her back. Hakamo-o rose to her feet as well.

"You've gotten a lot better with emotional things," Lycanroc complimented as she watched Hakamo-o go toward the weights.

Hakamo-o chortled. "Yeah. I guess watching crappy rom-coms helped me out…"

Lycanroc giggled. "Also, I've decided to just ignore when Dhelmise starts talking. I suggest that you do the same."

Hakamo-o huffed. "It's kinda hard when what he says is offensive or so infuriating all the time."

"That's the thing, though, he thrives off of reactions," the two of them heard suddenly. Looking around, they were surprised to see that Tsareena was walking toward the two. "Hello ladies…"

"Tsareena?" Hakamo-o queried, completely bewildered. "You… you can talk normally?"

"Yes," Tsareena responded, walking over and sitting down in a bean bag chair. "I've been able to talk this way ever since I've been here."

"Even when you were eliminated?" Lycanroc queried, as she was surprised to hear that revelation. "Why?"

"Because," Tsareena started. "I wanted to test how people in a competitive environment would behave around someone with supposed mental disabilities. Would people be accepting and willing to help? Or would they throw them under the bus?"

"Why would you want to do that?!" Hakamo-o queried, confused. "What purpose did that serve?"

"I was always interested in how people behave in certain environments," Tsareena explained. "So, I just decided to sign up for a random show and take it from there…"

"But… how did you know that you'd be brought back?" Lycanroc asked, tilting her head to the side..

"I didn't," Tsareena replied. "That is the weird thing. They just decided to bring me back randomly. But, nevertheless, I'm still here, and I'm willing to help you get rid of Dhelmise."

"Yes!" Hakamo-o cheered. "Three against one! That bastard will never stand a chance!"

"I prefer if he did not know of my true personality," Tsareena replied. "With him insulting me this entire time and pushing and shoving me around, he deserves to be destroyed by the one he looked down upon the most."

Lycanroc shrugged. "That sounds okay," she expressed. "Proving him wrong..."

"Yes, and there is a very simple way to defeat him," Tsareena replied. "Though, it also has a chance to have the opposite effect…"

"Simple?" Hakamo-o queried. "If the solution is simple, why didn't you come to us with this information sooner?!"

"That is truly unimportant," Tsareena replied, brushing away her concern. "So, like I stated previously, Dhelmise strives off of reactions. Therefore, the easiest way to get under his skin is to not give him a reaction. It may sound difficult, but it is really not."

"So… ignoring him, like Lycanroc was suggesting to do earlier?" Hakamo-o replied flatly, a bit unimpressed at the Fruit Pokemon's idea.

"Hmm… yes and no," Tsareena responded. "You cannot give him the reaction that he wants, and just ignoring him will push him to say more obscure, offensive things. My suggestion is to respond, but don't respond in anger. Either do that, or remain silent, but let him know that you acknowledge him…"

"Why do I have a feeling that this is bullshit and that it won't work?" Hakamo-o turned to Lycanroc, folding her arms.

"It's not a 100 percent guarantee, but it could be the start of it…" Tsareena warned. "Just know that."

"CONTESTANTS! COME ON DOWN TO THE LOBBY! IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR THE NEXT CHALLENGE!"

"Well, I guess we're about to see what happens…" Lycanroc commented with a small smile.

Nodding, Tsareena rose to her feet and started heading to the elevators. Lycanroc and Hakamo-o followed suit.

 **000**

Exiting the elevator, the three girls saw that Dhelmise was already there, much to their chagrin. And, by the look on their morning host's face, he was unamused as well. He actually looked a lot more distant and agitated as usual.

They stood before the large lion legendary, who took a deep breath.

"Uh… you okay, Solgaleo?" Lycanroc queried in concern, seeing the look of anguish on his face.

The lion glanced toward Dhelmise, who, surprisingly, kept quiet. "I've been way better, but I'm alright. Had to take about six antidepressants in preparation for this, but yeah."

"Whoa… why-"

"I think it's pretty obvious why, Lycanroc," Hakamo-o spoke, glowering annoyedly toward Dhelmise.

"Are you assuming that I'm the cause of that?" Dhelmise asked rhetorically. "I haven't even done anything… yet."

"Oh… no. You're aren't going to do _anything_ ," Solgaleo growled, baring his teeth. "You _are_ the cause of mine and Lunala's agitation, so you shut the hell up. And if you say _anything_ insulting to _anyone_ for the duration of this fucking game, I will make SURE that you're gone. You understand me?"

Dhelmise was a bit taken aback; he hadn't even said anything directly to the legendary yet. However, giving how childish Lunala acted in the last challenge, he wasn't that surprised that Solgaleo followed her example.

"Whatever. All you're doing is promoting censorship and suppressing my first amendment rights…" Dhelmise said flatly. "It's not completely unfair at all…"

"With all of the bullshit you've spewed from your non-existent lips, I'm just surprised that they hadn't done it sooner!" Hakamo-o chortled.

Dhelmise would've rolled his eyes if he had any. But, this censorship wouldn't really do anything different, as Hakamo-o was the only one with enough dirt to make fun of. Tsareena couldn't comprehend anything, and Lycanroc didn't really have anything. Sure, she got mad before, but that was because he was insulting a friend, not her.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move to Paniola Ranch for today's challenges," Solgaleo hosted, feeling a bit better after laying down Dhelmise's restrictions. One could argue that it was unprofessional, but given how other Total Pokemon hosts handle their contestants, this was essentially a slap on the wrist.

A blue aura surrounded the five of them. Moments later, they were teleported out of the hotel lobby.

 **000**

The five of them appeared in front of a cabin; the cabin was of an average size and was fabricated of various types of wood. Glancing at a sign on the outside of the cabin, it read "Pokemon Nursery – Find some Pokemon eggs!"

The overall scenery resembled a pasture; wooden fences outlined several sections of the area. Bales of hay and wheelbarrows were sporadically seen throughout the vicinity. Miltank and Tauros were plentiful in the vicinity. The contestants looked at the largest section of the pasture, leaning over the fences.

"Welcome to Paniola Ranch," Solgaleo introduced. "Today's challenges, unlike the others, have a theme. And that theme… is cowboys and cowgirls…"

"Are they in reverse?" Dhelmise queried rhetorically.

"Anyways…" Solgaleo waved away the anchor's failed joke. "You guys' first challenge is…"

A helicopter was suddenly heard, getting everyone's attention, as well as causing the Wild Bull and Milk Cow Pokemon in that area to scatter and run out of the pasture. Attached to the helicopter, was a Mechanical Tauros. The faux wild bull ride was completely made out of iron, with what looked like a leather saddle on its back. The bull component was on a black pole, which was attached to a trapezoidal prism base.

"A Mechanical Tauros ride!"

"Awesome!" Lycanroc cheered , fist pumping. "I always wanted to get on one of those!"

"Meh. I don't see the appeal, really," Dhelmise commented. "All you do is sit there, hold on with one arm and wait until you get thrown off and hit the ground."

"Yeah, but it's still fun!"

"Now, the challenge works like this," Solgaleo began explaining. "One at a time, each of you will ride the Mechanical Tauros and try to hold on for as long as you can. Now, you each get three tries, and after those three tries, your best time will be the one that is counted…"

"That sounds good…" Hakamo-o said with a shrug.

"However. There is more to it," Solgaleo added, keeping his neutral-good expression. Suddenly, rolled a silver service cart through the grass toward the five of them; he panted heavily, having had to push the large cart from the hotel all the way there. On top of the cart were four different covered

Once he stopped, Solgaleo chuckled softly as the Alolan Rattata panting heavily. "Thank you ."

gave a thumbs up before collapsing from exhaustion, causing the girls and Solgaleo to look at him with solicitude. Dhelmise chortled to himself

"Uh… is he okay?" Lycanroc queried, her face ripe with worry.

Solgaleo teleported away. "Yeah, he'll be fine. I teleported him back to the hotel lobby. He should be able to rest on the couches there."

"So, what's with the restaurant roller anyway?" Dhelmise questioned, showing no concern for the intern.

"I'm getting to it; sorry that I actually care about those who work for us…" Solgaleo retorted dismissively, glowering at the anchor-seaweed combo.

Dhelmise metaphorically rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Now, continuing on from what I was saying, based on you guys' times, you'll have to eat… one of these…"

Solgaleo lifted up the covers of the plates with his mind, revealing four parts that caused the contestants to stare in confusion and disgust as each dish looked raw. The first plate had a large pinkish-brown slab of what looked like meat; the second plate had a long cylindrical piece of meat that was wider on one side than on the other; the third plate had two ovular, veiny orbs; the fourth and final plate had a small, pink, fleshy piece of meat on it.

Seeing the dishes, Hakamo-o twitched, Lycanroc gaped, Tsareena just blinked, and Dhelmise couldn't even express how disgusted he was.

"These… are Tauros parts. We have Tauros liver, Tauros penis, Tauros testicles, and Tauros tongue…." he explained.

"Wait… we _really_ have to EAT those things?!" Hakamo-o gaped in disbelief.

"Yes. Based on your times, you'll each have to eat one of the four parts," Solgaleo reiterated. "Now, since them being raw would be too disgusting, they've each been boiled."

"Oh yeah, _that's_ reassuring," Dhelmise remarked sarcastically. "We're still either kissing a Tauros, sucking its dick, gargling its balls, or just eating its liver, which is the only normal option."

"Which is why I hope you do and don't get the worst time…" Solgaleo said with a stern glower. He then regained his composure to continue explaining how it'd work. "The player with the best time will have to eat the tongue; the second best time has to eat the penis; the third best has to eat the testicles, and the worst time gets the liver."

Everyone was confused. Why were the disgusting options reserved for the top three best times and the normal option for the loser?

"Uh, are you sure that you don't have them backwards?" Lycanroc queried. "Why is the good option for last place?"

"Because you will have only two and a half minutes to eat the items," Solgaleo explained, logically. "It is all about the size of the portions. The liver is the biggest part, so it will take a while to finish that, while the other items are smaller and easier to devour."

"The player that is able to finish their item the fastest will get an advantage in the next challenge," the host continued.

The final four exchanged looks, unsure about how they were going to devour the items without gagging. Lycanroc wasn't necessarily a picky eater, but this just seemed a bit… wrong. Hakamo-o simply hoped that she got the tongue or the liver. Tsareena, being a girl who didn't really eat that much and got full very rapidly, sighed to herself. Dhelmise was still disgusted about the challenge overall and had a few choice words and insults that he wanted to express, but the threat of bullshit elimination kept him quiet.

"Now, who would like to go first?" Solgaleo questioned.

The contenders exchanged looks, each of them having a look that said 'I don't wanna go…'. Getting no response, which he expected, he chuckled. "I knew you guys would act this way, so… we'll go in alphabetical order."

Dhelmise groaned upon hearing that. Hakamo-o and Solgaleo both sneered at him, while Lycanroc and Tsareena kept their same expressions.

 **-000-**

Dhelmise had situated himself on top of the Mechanical Tauros, using his seaweed tendrils to grip onto the saddle strap.

"Dhelmise! You aren't allowed to float!" Solgaleo called.

Dhelmise turned to the host in annoyance; he already knew that. He knew that he had annoyed everyone in the game, but he hadn't even done anything on that day just yet. He sighed in agitation as he focused his attention back on the Tauros as he lied on the saddle of the Tauros.

"This is going to go shittily, I can already tell," Dhelmise said to himself, bracing for the inevitable.

"Alright Dhelmise, your time begins in three… two… one… GO!"

The ride began jostling and shaking, attempting to get the Sea Creeper Pokemon off of it. Dhelmise held on with his small seaweed tendrils on his bottom, feeling his mind trembling as the ride bucked and shook.

Eventually, he lost his grip and fell off the side before floating back up with a groan. "Arceus, that's a fucking trip if you're not seeing anything…"

"Alright, Dhelmise, you got twenty-one seconds!" Solgaleo announced.

Dhelmise groaned. "Of course…" he muttered.

"Get back onto that bull!" he heard Solgaleo shout at him.

Dhelmise grumbled to himself as he floated back onto the ride and wrapped his leaves around the saddle strap again. This part of the challenge just made his head hurt due to the quaking, but, he was going to have to deal with it two more times.

"Alright, in three… two… one… GO!"

The Mechanical Tauros began moving again, with Dhelmise sliding back and forth on the saddle vigorously. The bull began bucking harder, it seemed, as Dhelmise found himself being thrusted forward, causing himself to lift up slightly before slamming back down onto the saddle. He then released himself, allowing his body to fall to the side.

"Fuck… me…" he groaned.

"Thirteen seconds!"

Dhelmise went wide-eyed. He went down!? He groaned in agitation. He looked back at the Mechanical Tauros before shaking himself and heading back to the group. "Fuck that, I'll keep the twenty-one seconds. I'm not going a third time…"

"Aww… is the wittle baby scawed?" Hakamo-o mocked. Given that Dhelmise couldn't retort back gave her confidence again. The bastard always talked down to them, so now it was their turn to bite back.

Dhelmise, hearing her mocking tone, snorted. "Is that seriously all you've got?" he queried. He didn't expect anything necessarily remarkable, but still, that was totally weak and cliche. However, he still couldn't say any of that, as Solgaleo glared daggers at him.

"Alright, all you girls have to do is beat twenty-one seconds and Dhelmise gets the shaft," Solgaleo stated before realizing what he was saying and what one of the dishes was. "Not literally of course, but you get the idea."

Dhelmise grumbled to himself. It was so agitating to be unable to quip and insult the others, especially when they made themselves completely open to it.

"Okay, Hakamo-o, you're up next…" Solgaleo hosted. "How do you feel?"

Hakamo-o shrugged. "I feel okay. I know for a fact that I can beat Dhelmise's shitty time," she explained, her tone exuding confidence as she passed a cocky glance toward Dhelmise

"Let's hope that all three of you girls can…" Solgaleo expressed his hope. "Get on over there…"

Hakamo-o nodded as she hopped the fence and started heading to the mechanism.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o examined the Mechanical Tauros. She had never ridden one of these things before, but she felt that she should be able to hold on longer than Dhelmise. Climbing onto it, Hakamo-o was surprised at how uncomfortable the saddle was. Usually saddles were smooth, but her butt felt like it was sitting on hot grainy concrete.

Sh had to occasionally adjust herself so that she didn't feel so uncomfortable. She grabbed onto the saddle strap with her right hand. She took a breath.

"Alright Hakamo-o, the time to beat is twenty-one seconds!" Solgaleo reminded. "In three… two… one… GO!"

The Mechanical Tauros began moving and spinning, as Hakamo-o kept her left arm in the air. The Tauros began to buck a bit rougher as five seconds passed by. The bull jerked to the left abruptly, causing Hakamo-o to slide onto the side. She clenched her teeth as she tried using her legs and her right arm to pull herself back upright.

However, the Tauros continued jerking and spinning. She just continued holding on for as long as she could before letting go and landing in the grass.

"Thirty-two seconds!" Solgaleo called. Dhelmise groaned in annoyance. "Of course…"

Hearing that, Hakamo-o smirked. However, despite getting a better time than Dhelmise, wanted to ensure that she had the best time. She would much rather eat the Tauros tongue than anything else.

Hakamo-o climbed back onto the bull, grabbing onto the saddle strap once again; she rose her left arm again. "Let's do this again! I'm not eating a dick or balls!" she shouted over.

"Alright then. Second try starts in three… two… one… GO!"

The Mechanical Tauros started moving once again. Spinning and shaking, the Scaly Pokemon kept her grip on the saddle strap, trying to count in her head. She kept her legs close together, gripped onto the sides of the ride. She closed her eyes, continuing to count to herself as the bull began jerking violently.

It bumped numerous times, causing her to bounce along with it. It then moved forward abruptly, causing her to flip forward, making her eyes snap open as she realized that she was no long on the saddle and instead had her back and butt up against the back of the mechanical bull's head.

Groaning, she let go and was immediately tossed off when the ride bucked to the left.

"Forty-four seconds!"

Hakamo-o rubbed her head as she got back onto her feet. That was a better time, but she wanted to see if she would be able to stay on for a full minute. She was unsure about how the other two would fare. She had a feeling that Lycanroc's wildness will allow her to stay on for a long time, and she was still completely bewildered about Tsareena.

The dragon- and fighting-type climbed onto the Mechanical Tauros for a final time. She took a breath as she straddled the saddle and grabbed onto the strap. She didn't raise her left arm up as high, instead deciding to keep it level.

"Alright, you're going for three!" Solgaleo shouted. "In three… two… one… GO!"

Almost immediately, the Mechanical Tauros swung around violently, causing Hakamo-o to slide off of the left side of the rough saddle. She didn't break either of her previous times. She growled in agitation, punching the ground.

"Three seconds…" Solgaleo drawled in disappointment.

Hakamo-o folded her arms as she headed back to the group. She now had to hope that Lycanroc and Tsareena both did worse than her. She climbed back over the fence and leaned onto it.

"Forty-four seconds… not bad at all," Solgaleo commented. "I'm surprised that you guys are lasting longer than two seconds. Most of the time, people are immediately thrown off by this thing…"

"Maybe we're lucky," Dhelmise said sarcastically.

"Anyways…" Solgaleo said dismissively. "Lycanroc, you're up. You're trying to beat twenty-one seconds and forty-four seconds…"

Lycanroc nodded vigorously. "I can't wait!" she said, clasping her hands together.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc smiled to herself as she approached the mechanical bull ride. She had no experience with these, but seeing so many videos and TV shows that had them implemented really made her excited. She ebulliently climbed onto the bull, straddling the uncomfortable saddle. It didn't bother her as much, and she grabbed onto the strap.

"Man, I wish I had a cowgirl hat…" the Wolf Pokemon spoke, rubbing the metal head of her steed. "Then this experience would be ten times more awesome…"

"Alright Lycanroc, remember to beat twenty-one seconds so you don't have to eat the liver, and beat forty-four if you want the easiest meal!"

Nodding, Lycanroc threw up a thumbs up.

"Alright. In three… two… one… GO!" Solgaleo announced.

The Mechanical Tauros began moving, with Lycanroc giggling as it did so. It began gyrating and bucking wildly, with Lycanroc keeping up with it the entire time. The red canine was wooting and and moving her other arm in a circular motion, as if twirling a lasso.

As the Tauros began moving a bit more vigorously and violently, Lycanroc felt exhilarated. It felt just like an amusement park ride! "WOO-HOO!"

 **-000-**

"Oh come on, this is bullshit!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "She thinks-"

"No one cares about your opinion, Dhelmise," Solgaleo stated dismissively, causing the Sea Creeper Pokemon to groan.

 **000**

" **The annoyance is real…" Dhelmise groaned.**

 **-000-**

After almost a full minute, Lycanroc let go of the saddle strap, launching herself over the bull's head and causes her to land on her chest. Giggling, she started getting back on her feet.

"One minute and two seconds!" Solgaleo exclaimed, as Hakamo-o sighed in disappointment. "Nice job, Lycanroc!"

"Can I still go again?!" the wolf girl exclaimed, rushing up to the fence, her tail wagging with alacrity.

"Well, you have two more chances, but are you sure that you want to do that? Tsareena's the last one and… we're not sure about how well she'll do; though, it may be bad," Solgaleo commented.

Tsareena giggled to herself upon hearing that. At the moment, knowing that Lycanroc would take full advantage, Tsareena was pondering which Tauros part she'd be willing to eat. She had a weak stomach, so she may not be able to take any of the four parts. Then there was the issue of what it would likely smell like.

She knew for a fact that she had a weak stomach and that she couldn't eat very much, and due to the fact that she had eaten breakfast not so long ago, she was still rather full.

In the middle of her thoughts, she heard Solgaleo roar out. "In three… two… one… GO!"

She looked back out in the field and saw that Lycanroc was back on the Mechanical Tauros, having the time of her life. She had pretty much already confirmed that she had the best time, so now she'd just have to wait and choose between two testicles or a long penis. She sighed and shuddered in disgust.

After a couple of minutes, Solgaleo announced, "Two minutes and eleven seconds!"

Hakamo-o, Dhelmise, and Tsareena had grown rather bored at this point watching their fellow competitor have so much fun on an otherwise uncomfortable contraption, in their eyes at least.

Lycanroc rushed over to the fence with a smile. "Man, that was awesome!"

"Good for you…" Dhelmise replied, feeling irked. "Can we get Tsareena's turn over with now?"

Lycanroc rolled her eyes as she climbed back over the fence.

"Alright, uh… Tsareena, it's your turn…" Solgaleo stated.

Tsareena blinked before walking into the fence. She continued to do this, causing Dhelmise to twitch. The girls had to hide their smirks, as Solgaleo sighed. A blue aura surrounded the Fruit Pokemon before she was floated onto the other side of the fence.

 **-000-**

Tsareena began heading toward the Mechanical Tauros. Once she was there, she decided that she was going to go for the penis. It _was_ considered the second best part, behind the tongue.

She sighed. She would have to stay on longer than forty-four seconds. With a deep breath, she straddled the saddle and took hold of the strap.

"Alright Tsareena, you're actually there, so just try to hang on!" Solgaleo shouted. "In three… two… one… GO!"

Dhelmise chuckled to himself. Looks like he wouldn't be getting the liver.

The Tauros began bucking and spinning, with Tsareena trying her very best to hold on. She didn't know how the hell Lycanroc was able to keep herself so stable on top of it, but all she knew was that she needed to beat Dhelmise and Hakamo-o.

"You're coming upon twenty seconds Tsareena! Just hang on awhile longer!"

Dhelmise groaned in agitation.

Tsareena kept her grip on the strap, feeling herself sliding on the rough saddle. She tightened her eyes shut as she continued riding the bull. As she passed Dhelmise's time, she felt herself slipping off. She kept pulling herself up before remembering that she had to keep an act on for Dhelmise. Against her better judgment, she allowed herself to fall off of the mechanical bull.

"Thirty-nine seconds!" Solgaleo called.

Tsareena growled to herself. She should have just said 'fuck Dhelmise' and just made him think that she was only slightly getting better. But, it was too late now, and if she went on again, it probably _would_ arouse suspicions in the ghost- and grass-type. Looks like she would be eating testicles. She shuddered at the thought alone.

 **-000-**

After she didn't get up to try again, Solgaleo brought her back to the group with a hearty smile. "Alright, everyone has finished their turn and established their placement, so follow me to the Pokemon Center.

The large white lion started heading through the grass, approaching a pathway. Exchanging looks, the final four began following their legendary host, all the while thinking about why he didn't just teleport them to the center.

 **000**

Inside of the healing station, market, and cafe building, Solgaleo teleported the silver rolling cart there. The four contestants each took a seat at a different table.

Each plate from the cart was floated in front of the competitors based on their times.

"Now, this part of the challenge is essentially a race," Solgaleo explained. "As I've stated previous, you will only have two and a half minutes to eat your entire dish. The one that finishes their Tauros part the fastest, also known as the first person finished, will get an advantage in the next challenge."

"Uh, question…" Dhelmise started.

"No one cares," Solgaleo replied contemptuously. Dhelmise growled.

"I'm gonna ask it anyway. I'm not even insulting you," Dhelmise replied. "What made you think of this type of challenge?"

"Anyways-" Solgaleo growled, completely ignoring his question. A countdown clock appeared on the Pokemon Center screen. "You may begin eating in three… two… one… GO!"

The clock began counting down and the girls immediately began eating. Dhelmise knew that he had no chance anyway, so he just decided to watch the pain and disgust of the girls. Of course, Solgaleo was peeved about that, but as long as he wasn't talking, he felt that it was fine.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc sniffed at the tongue on her plate. She was a bit nervous, as the smell was faintly pungent. The thought of her eating a boiled, unprepared organ made her shudder. However, she knew that she needed the advantage.

She took a breath and picked up the tongue before taking a bite of it. The taste could only be described as overly salty and cardboard-like. It was like having a bunch of salty saliva in her mouth. She gagged a bit before taking another bite of it.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o had just decided to take a bite out of the tip of the penis and chewing it, punching the table all the while. The taste was putrid and weird. The texture was smooth and it was so chewy. It was like chewing on a deflated balloon.

The Scaly Pokemon gagged repeatedly due to the taste and consistency. She took a few more bites, chewing vigorously in an attempt to hurry up and force it down. Once it slid down her esophagus, she shuddered at the strange, slimy feeling.

 **-000-**

Tsareena, after smelling the two testicles before her, gagged a bit. She held her breath and tried to take a bite, but there seemed to be a membrane around it, meaning that she'd have to _peel_ it before eating it. Looking over to the clock, she saw that a minute and forty… thirty-nine… thirty-eight… seconds were remaining.

There was no way that she was going to be able to finish _both_ of them. They were both rather large and she'd have to peel them both out of the membrane. With a sigh, she dropped one back down on her plate.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc saw that neither Dhelmise nor Tsareena were even trying to eat their Tauros part. It made her feel uncomfortable as they both watched her and Hakamo-o devour their disgusting parts.

The wolf glanced over at Hakamo-o, who was more than halfway finished with the penis. Lycanroc looked back at her own hands and saw two remaining pieces of the tongue. She peered toward the clock and saw that there were fifty seconds left.

She had still been chewing vigorously and forced it down.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o growled to herself after seeing Dhelmise and Tsareena just watching them. She looked at the clock and saw thirty seconds remaining. Her eyes widened as she took a large bite out of the penis and chewed it vigorously before forcing the rest of it into her mouth. She continued chewing the penis for a long while, the consistency and taste causing her to bang her fist on the table.

She then looked over to Lycanroc and saw her placing the final piece of the tongue in her mouth. Seeing her friend getting closer to the end, she attempted to swallow what was in her crowded mouth. It started going down, but it went down slowly, causing her to throw her head back to speed up the process.

"Finished!" she heard Lycanroc shout just as the pieces slid down into her stomach. She just ate a penis… for nothing!

Dhelmise chuckled at her misfortune. "Nice work, Lycanroc…" he said simply. He wanted to tease Hakamo-o and bring up Lucario again, but he knew he couldn't because of the stupid hosts. The anchor wielding seaweed was very annoyed at the fact that this was his comeuppance from his constant smack talk. It was pretty lame overall, but it was still annoying. Without commentary, these challenges were going to be boring as all hell.

"I just ate a fucking Tauros dick…" Hakamo-o finally seemed to realize. "And I still didn't win… A FUCKING TAUROS DICK!"

" _Yeah, and that'll be the only dick you'll be swallowing for a long time,"_ Dhelmise thought to himself.

"Congratulations, Lycanroc, you french kissed a dead Tauros and now you get an advantage," Solgaleo joked. "How did the parts taste?"

"Like you would expect…" Lycanroc replied, shuddering. "Just disgusting."

"Horrible…" Hakamo-o replied, coming back over with a trash can in her arms.

Seeing this, Lycanroc couldn't help but giggle. "What's with the bin? It's already in your stomach…"

"And I don't want it to be…" Hakamo-o replied before attempting to touch her uvula and induce vomiting.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Solgaleo exclaimed, stopping her. "That's not needed. It's considered a delicacy in other places in the world, so just… keep it in. It'll come back out eventually…"

" _Yep… shitting dicks instead of shitting bricks…"_ Dhelmise thought.

"Now, let's get to the scene of your final challenge," Solgaleo expressed, walking out of the Pokemon Center.

The final four began heading out after the host, curious as to what he could possibly have them do now.

 **000**

" **Riding a fucking mechanical Tauros… eating a Tauros dick… what the hell is he gonna have us do now? Some rodeo bullshit?!" Hakamo-o growled.**

 **000**

Everyone had returned to the site of the mechanical Tauros riding challenge. However, this time, the contraption was gone. The final four were standing in a line, each one wearing a cowboy/cowgirl hat and holding ropes with pre-tied loops at the end.

"Your next challenge is going to be… collecting Tauros and Miltank!" Solgaleo exclaimed.

Hakamo-o groaned. "Of course it is…" she annoyedly responded, folding her arms.

"Hey, it's relatively simpler than your last challenge," the host replied in response to Hakamo-o's negative remark. "I think that's objectively true; what about you?"

Getting no verbal response, Solgaleo chuckled, feeling as though he was correct. "Now, all you have to do is wrangle three of the bovines that are currently running around this area and bring them back here. The first player to bring back three of them wins a reward that will help them in the next episode…"

"Wait, so… this _isn't_ an elimination challenge?!" Lycanroc expressed her confusion.

"Nope, sadly, this is strictly a reward challenge," Solgaleo explained. "However, I advise you to still take advantage of this challenge if you'd like Dhelmise to stay in his place…"

Dhelmise gave him a look. " _Jackass_ …"

"Now, Lycanroc, because you've won the previous challenge, you only have to rope _two_ of them…"

Needless to say, Lycanroc was unimpressed and unenthused. "So… I just have to capture one less than the others? That's it?"

"Well, I _was_ going to give you a bottle of pheromones that would make you smell like a Miltank in heat to Tauros, and and a musky Tauros to Miltank," Solgaleo explained. "But, there was the problem of washing it off of your body, so unless you want horny Tauros and Miltank charging into the hotel and invading your room long after the challenge's completion…"

Lycanroc smacked her lips at that. She definitely didn't want to wake up and see a Tauros in her bed. Miltank were semi-welcome, as she loved MooMoo Milk. "Okay, I withdraw all complaints…"

"I'm sure that you do," Solgaleo responded with a smirk. "Now, let's get this challenge started shall we? You all know your objective and have your weapons of cattle conglomeration…"

"You mean these lousy ropes?" Dhelmise queried, holding up one of the scratchy, decrepit ropes. "They don't seem to have the full usability that you think they do."

"You'll be fine," Solgaleo replied dismissively, his eyes showing signs of impassiveness. However, his emotions returned once he was focused on the group as a whole. "Now, your challenge starts In three… two… one… GO!"

The final four immediately scrambled out of the stable with their ropes. Tsareena, still pretending to be the weakest in the herd, intentionally fell on her way out, causing Dhelmise to snicker as he left the area.

 **000**

" _She's gonna be too easy…_ " Dhelmise thought to himself, knowing that the hosts were still watching. " _Why would those two bring back the biggest dumbass in the history of these shows?"_

However, after he thought about it, what he had been told previously was starting to creep back into his subconscious. He had completely dismissed the possibility of Tsareena being intellectual in any way, but he was finally beginning to see inconsistencies in her behavior. " _Hmm… why would they?"_

The usually adamant and insulting Sea Creeper was actually beginning to think _analytically_ about his fellow competitors. How was Tsareena able to hold onto the mechanical Tauros and actually do _better_ than him? Then, moments later, she refuses to eat the Tauros testicles, as if she knew what they really were. Now, all of a sudden, she just falls over… oxygen? Something didn't add up.

Amidst his thoughts, the Sea Creeper noticed Lycanroc heading down the path they had just come from, so he decided to follow her.

 **000**

Lycanroc continued heading her way back toward Paniola Town to scope out the area. After the Tauros and Miltank scattered, she knew that she had seen a few in the old, civilization as they headed toward the Pokemon Center for the second challenge.

As she walked along the path, Lycanroc looked around, admiring the old-time scenery. The buildings were very rustic in appearance, the old, crusty wood barely showing that the town was likely 100 years old. The numerous buildings just gave off a pleasant vibe. The various signs and the swinging doors, as well as the challenge at hand, immediately screamed to her that the challenges of today were of a western theme.

She continued glancing around, a slight chill going down her spine as a tumbleweed rolled by. The town seemed abandoned, but it really should not have been, as there are usually many kids running around acting like cowboys and cowgirls.

It was always strange to the Wolf Pokemon how themed competitions, that weren't strictly island based, rarely had other Pokémon with the same mental capacity as the competitors roaming around. It was always either completely barren or feral Pokemon were roaming freely.

As she strolled past, dirt shifting between her toes, she began listening out for Tauros and Miltank, twirling her lasso.

"Where, oh where, would the cows and bulls be?" she asked playfully as she continued looking around. Eventually, she heard the faint mooing sounds that a Tauros would make, and began following the source of the sound.

Heading behind one of the sets of buildings, Lycanroc flicked her hat upwards and turned a corner, glancing around the faintly open space. There, she saw two Tauros cornering a Miltank, which looked frightened, as it was shuddering.

She slowly approached them, twirling her lasso in preparation. She wondered if she should attack the cattle and weaken them first; Solgaleo didn't give them any restrictions, after all.

Just as she prepared to toss it…

"Lycanroc!"

The wolf jumped, and the two Tauros that were originally cornering the Miltank turned around, their facial features contorted into furious glares. Lycanroc paled, her eyes widening in fright as they met the redness of the Tauros'.

"Uh… okay, maybe this wasn't such a good time…" Dhelmise commented, seeing the Tauros slowly begin to turn and face the two of them.

"YOU THINK!?"

However, just as it seemed like the Wild Bull Pokemon were about to charge, the two were suddenly launched over the two contestants. Lycanroc and Dhelmise flinched and ducked, before turning around to see their statuses. They were both unconscious.

"Oof… sucks to be them…" Dhelmise chortled.

Lycanroc turned back to the Miltank, who was panting agitatedly before walking toward the two of them. A cheerful smile appeared on her face as she approached the two of them.

"Mil mil, mil…" she replied, her tone expressing her thankfulness.

"Oh, well, technically you-"

Dhelmise immediately tossed his lasso around the Miltank and whacked it with a Power Whip, knocking it out.

"Dhelmise! What the hell!?" Lycanroc bellowed.

"I wanted to talk to you…" he replied simply. "And don't worry, I'm not even gonna comment on your little outburst after the last elimination…"

Lycanroc rolled her eyes. She honestly couldn't care less anymore. "Just say what you're gonna say and take your Miltank," she stated brashly, folding her arms.

Dhelmise ignored her dismissive demeanor. "Have you noticed that Tsareena has been alternating her actions?"

Lycanroc's eyes widened. Had he actually been paying attention!? She knew that she couldn't lie, as they talked about her changing in the previous challenge.

"Well, yeah, she's been doing pretty good," she responded, hiding her nervousness. However, she then gained an idea. "Why do you ask? Do you feel _threatened_?"

"I… actually don't know how to feel," he expressed, confusing Lycanroc. She expected him to be arrogant and brush away her fake suspicions, so she was bewildered at this shift in demeanor.

"Uh… what do you mean?" she queried, sincerely confused, not knowing if this was a trick or not.

"I'm actually starting to think and analyze, which pisses me off," Dhelmise explained. "Tsareena's starting to change, and what happened with Shiinotic with those… _individuals_ from Shaymin's show… makes it seem like they were brought back for a reason other than what the hosts said…"

Lycanroc hadn't really thought further about it and just let it happen. She wasn't really bothered anyway, though what Shiinotic had been saying _did_ make her question her choices in life. She didn't worry about Tsareena. Even with this new revelation of her true intelligence, it didn't guarantee anything for anyone. Whatever happens just happens. "Eh," Lycanroc shrugged. "Shiinotic's gone and Tsareena's finding her footing. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal…"

Dhelmise groaned. "Fine...if you're not gonna listen, then it's your own funeral…"

The ghost- and grass-type began floating away, dragging the Miltank along with him. She was taken aback by his last statement and actually grew a bit worried. As she watched him go, dragging the Miltank, she noticed that the two Tauros were gone. She cursed to herself at her idiocy. She could have won by now!

 **000**

" **Stupid, stupid, stupid…" Lycanroc repeated, smacking herself in the face numerous times out of frustration.**

 **000**

After intentionally tripping herself, Tsareena decided to go after Hakamo-o and talk to her about the competition and test her loyalty. It wasn't that she had a problem with Lycanroc or anything, but if she had to rely on anybody left in the competition, it'd have to be Hakamo-o. Her serious demeanor really gave Tsareena confidence in her capabilities.

The Fruit Pokemon followed the Scaly Pokemon as she walked around aimlessly in search of Tauros and Miltank. She soon saw Hakamo-o stop and crouch behind a bush.

 **-000-**

Crouching behind a bush, Hakamo-o eyed a couple of Tauros grazing in a further part of the field. The dragon- and fighting-type removed the hat that was sitting atop her head and held onto it like a frisbee. She prepared to toss the hat in an attempt to distract the grazing bulls momentarily.

"Alright, it's time to-"

Tsareena, without warning, suddenly crouched beside her. "What are you doing, Tsareena?" the dragon queried.

"I need to talk to you…"

"You already talked to me and Lycanroc this morning…" Hakamo-o replied, focusing back on her targets, which were still grazing. She successfully tossed her hat out at the open. The Tauros didn't seem to pay it any mind, which caused Hakamo-o to sigh.

"Listen," Tsareena started now knowing that Hakamo-o had nothing to distract herself with, "We know that we all want Dhelmise gone, right?"

"Yeah? So…"

"And I also know that as soon as the chance arises, both you and Lycanroc with team up against me and try to have some kind of friendship battle in the end," she replied. "I highly advise you not to do that…"

Hakamo-o scoffed upon hearing that. "And why is that? It's not like either of us is going to cheat or go easy…"

"You don't know…" Tsareena replied. "You and Incineroar are her closest friends, and her depression may cause her to give up rather easily for you being her friend."

Hakamo-o huffed, rolling her eyes. "Please… Lycanroc has more fight in her than that. She wouldn't take it that far."

"You don't know…" Tsareena replied. "She may even betray you. I mean, I was able to fool all of you, so who knows… maybe this is all a front…"

Hakamo-o gave her a look. "Y'know, I never thought that you'd be a manipulative type…" she replied. "So, if you're just gonna keep spewing bullshit, maybe Lycanroc and I can take _you_ out first, and then handle Dhelmise on our own…"

Tsareena nodded. "You're not willing to betray your best friend based on what someone else says. Very good. Very very good…"

"Wait, what?"

"I was just testing your loyalty, and it is very apparent that you hold a lot of it," Tsareena explained as she rose to her feet. "Now, the only thing I can say to you now is… be cautious, and good luck."

And with that, she began walking away, leaving Hakamo-o completely bewildered.

 **000**

" **What… is up with her?" Hakamo-o queried, scratching her head. "These 'tests' all sound completely redundant and stupid. Lycanroc is my best friend in this game. Why would I betray her if she hasn't betrayed me?"**

 **000**

As Tsareena retreated, she saw Dhelmise dragging a Miltank into the stable. She growled to herself upon seeing this. She couldn't allow him to win an advantage, but she also didn't want to compromise herself. It was such an internal battle for her. She wanted to save her whole 'I was pretending the whole time' spiel and gloat when the Sea Creeper was eliminated.

She growled before gaining an idea. She began flapping her hair, blowing a pink mist throughout the area. The sweet scented aroma spread feverishly, just as she wanted. Her plan was to attract Tauros and Miltank to herself in order to wrangle three automatically, thus winning the challenge with ease.

However, that is not what fully happened…

Instead of strictly Tauros and Miltank… Tsareena lured numerous Tauros, Miltank, flying-types, bug-types, and even her fellow competitors! Lycanroc, who had been heading to the stable with a Tauros , smelled the fragrance in the air and began heading over toward the source.

When all of the feral Pokemon (and Lycanroc) began heading toward her, both Dhelmise and Hakamo-o took notice.

"Tsareena, what the hell are you doing?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she rushed up.

"Uh… keeping these things at bay…" Tsareena replied. "Hurry up and grab three of them!"

"But, you're just grouping them together for-!"

"Wow…" Dhelmise chortled. "Uh… very interesting….very interesting indeed…."

Dhelmise picked up two Tauros using kinesis and tossed them into the stable. He floated into the stable and chuckled. "Wow. Easiest challenge ever…"

Hakamo-o glowered at Tsareena, who stopped using Sweet Scent at this point.

 **000**

" **Too smart for my own good…" Tsareena muttered to herself.**

 **000**

Solgaleo, upon seeing that Dhelmise was already back within twenty minutes, twitched. He growled before roaring out in total fury. Hakamo-o, Tsareena, and Lycanroc covered their ears, while Dhelmise floated there, unfazed.

Once it ended, Dhelmise snorted. "Whoa, you _really_ hate when I win…"

Solgaleo seethed. "Shut… the hell… up…"

Dhelmise obliged, as there was nothing that the host could do at this point without being _completely_ unfair.

"Just because you win… doesn't mean the advantage will be useful to you…" Solgaleo growled. "Just know that…"

Dhelmise had a snappy comment, but recalling his threat, he decided to keep it to himself. " _Actually, advantages can help if used the way intended to… dumbass…"_

"EVERYONE HEAD BACK TO THE HOTEL!" Solgaleo yelled.

"But what about the Tauros and Miltank?" Lycanroc queried, rubbing her head.

"They'll go back on their own, eventually," Solgaleo responded, not really in the mood. "Now go. I need to go take _more_ antidepressants. Who knows? Maybe I'll overdose…"

"Jeez, it is _not_ that serious," Dhelmise commented. "Also, the fact that I make you want to possibly off yourself is very humorous…"

Solgaleo slammed a paw in front of him before getting face-to-face with the Sea Creeper. "I will end you… and I will not hesitate. Keep… your fucking… mouth… closed…"

"I didn't even insult you!"

"GO!"

Dhelmise muttered to himself before teleported away from the large, white lion. The three girls started heading back down the path that led back to the hotel, as Solgaleo smacked his head repeatedly out of complete and utter annoyance.

He then turned to the cameras upon hearing the clearing of throats. Solgaleo looked toward the cameras with a death glare, indicating that he wasn't going to sign off anything this time.

 **000**

On the way back to the hotel, Hakamo-o was still glowering at Tsareena. "How the hell could you make such a stupid move?!"

"Hey, I didn't think, okay!" Tsareena replied. "I saw him dragging his first Miltank and I just did the first thing that came to mind…"

"Well instead of hindering Dhelmise, you fucking helped him get the leg of us in the next challenge! And most likely, it's gonna be an elimination challenge!" Hakamo-o bellowed.

"I get it!" Tsareena yelled back. "Jeez, you act like you've never made a mistake…"

"That's because my mistakes haven't given a jackass a leg up on others!"

"Guys, can you stop arguing?!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "Seriously, we all just want Dhelmise gone. Yelling at each other over it isn't gonna help!"

Hakamo-o sighed. "Fine, but if one us gets the boot instead of him, I'm blaming _her_!"

Tsareena rolled her eyes. "And I'll take full responsibility. It's not that big of a deal," she shrugged.

"Well, let's hope that it doesn't come down to that and Dhelmise gets his just desserts…" Lycanroc said as the girls nodded in agreement. However, Lycanroc couldn't help but feel nervous, given what Dhelmise said.

" _Let's really hope…"_

 **000**

 **And… chapter done. Sorry nothing eventful really happened here, but hey, Lycanroc is out of her depressing phase, Tsareena revealed herself, and Dhelmise was silenced, in a no insults way. Looks like Solgaleo and Lunala will be getting more abrasive like they were earlier in the game. Let's see how this goes. I hope you enjoyed this somehow and I'll see you all next time on Total… Pokemon...Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**


	17. Episode 17: Price Check on Four

**My flash drive is fucked, so fuck my life…**

 **000**

Tsareena was currently lying in her bed, still gorged in thought. She had inadvertently given Dhelmise an easy victory, resulting in him getting an advantage in the next challenge. She was so disappointed with herself.

How could she have been so… stupid? That was just a character that she would play! With a sigh, the Fruit Pokemon decided to get out of her bed and head down for a midnight snack.

Moving a section of her covers back, the leggy grass-type started moving toward her door. She was very nervous about this next challenge. What if she messes up again and gets eliminated? What if Dhelmise's advantage completely gets him into the final three again?

As she went down the hallway, her mind began to wander. In the case that Dhelmise won the next challenge, who will she be willing to get rid of? If it was a vote, that is. She already hated Dhelmise and knew that he'd be condescending and it for the long haul, but would she rather talk to and deal with Hakamo-o or Lycanroc.

She wasn't truly expecting to make it this far after returning, as those that return to competitions hardly ever make it any further. Lycanroc was very nice and friendly, which could very well guarantee her a win, as most shows have nice people win. Hakamo-o, on the other hand, was very brash and serious, which makes it less likely that she'll win.

"So, I guess I'll have to focus on outing Lycanroc," she muttered to herself as she approached the elevators. She sighed, pressing the down arrow button. As the doors opened, Tsareena stepped in and took a breath.

 **000**

" **I'm an analyst…" Tsareena said. "I'm not a bad person, but… if it comes down to me or one of them, it'll always be me, first…"**

 **000**

Hakamo-o was just lying in her bed, talking on her new phone. As the game's end grew nearer, she started growing more tense and anxious, which she really didn't like. She hated feeling this way; it just left her experiencing headaches and stress, especially with Dhelmise still being there.

As a result, she had decided to call Lucario to see how things were going with her and also vent a bit. She was the closest thing she had to an actual partner, so she decided, why not? Dialing the number Lucario gave her, she held her phone up to her ear. After receiving an answer, she heard the voice as Victini's and groaned to herself.

However, much to her surprise, Victini allowed the call. She just put her left arm behind her head as she stared at the ceiling of her room. Soon enough she heard the voice she wanted to hear. She decided to put it on speaker phone just for a better effect.

"Hey Lucario…" she greeted.

"Oh...hi," Lucario said, sounding too winded to actually sound awkward. "What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing," the Scaly Pokemon replied. "Just… calling to see how things are going down there…"

"Oh..." Lucario said on the other end, before a pause was heard. "I'm good. You?"

"Well, disregarding the fact that Incineroar's gone, and Tsareena fucked over our last challenge, practically handing Dhelmise an advantage… I guess I'm alright, too," she replied.

"Shit I just realized...if we both win we'll be LOADED," Lucario responded.

"I know!" Hakamo-o replied, her eyes wide. "It'll be great!"

"What do you want with the money, anyway?" Lucario asked. "I've never even considered the possibility of winning."

"Honestly… I have no idea," Hakamo-o admitted sheepishly. "I didn't think that far ahead. I was just hoping that I'd make it far, so I don't really have any major plans. Maybe get my own place."

"Same, honestly," Lucario said. "Hopefully if I get into that Pokken thing I'll actually have a job. I have to move out of my boyfriend's apartment and all."

"Yeah, I hope that goes well for you. I can probably help you out and teach you a few things, if you want. That way they'll never know what hit them," Hakamo-o chortled.

"I just hope I get in," Lucario said, sounding a little worried. "I've been training my ass off. I damn well better."

"Luca, you're a great battler. Plus, with that wild mega form of yours, they'll be stupid not to choose you," Hakamo-o replied.

"What about you though," Lucario asked. "Uh got a job or place we could...hang out?"

"Well, I've looked for a job before, but I don't really know what I'm good at…" Hakamo-o admitted, sounding a bit disappointed. "I mean, I can battle, sure, but I don't think I have any other qualities that'll make others really want to hire me. As for hanging out… we could just hang out in the rec center back home or… well… I don't know."

"Haha, yeah," Lucario said, cursing herself at being so awkward.

"So, has Tepig burned the island down a significant amount yet?" Hakamo-o jokingly queried.

"That's not funny," Lucario said, abruptly hanging up the phone.

Hakamo-o couldn't help but to snort at this. She immediately dialed the number back, waiting for the dial tone. It took a while, but the female jackal's voice was soon heard again.

"I see that I've triggered you…" Hakamo-o joked.

Lucario shuddered on the other end. "PTSD man."

"Hey, you should've been here from the beginning with everything Dhelmise has been saying and doing…" Hakamo-o replied. "He literally has Lunala and Solgaleo taking pills to deal with the headache that _is_ his existence…"

Lucario sighed before yawning. "I bet. Well, I should head back and get some sleep. It's past midnight."

Glancing over at her clock, Hakamo-o saw that it was 12: 23 AM. She sighed. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna get some sleep, too."

"Alright, uh… hmm… I… I l-love you…" Lucario said, sounding very strained and awkward about the situation.

Hakamo-o blushed a deep crimson. "I… I love you… too…" Hakamo-o replied, sounding strained herself. "G'night…"

"Night…" Lucario replied quickly as they both hung up.

Hakamo-o rested her phone against her chest, still blushing. She'd never said that before, so she felt very very tense. This just proved that their relationship _was_ serious. Now she had more of a reason to try and win.

 **000**

" **I'm in the final four, and now I have an official relationship," Hakamo-o started. She took a deep breath. "I'll have to try even harder to win this. I hope Lycanroc is able to bring the fight in the finale..."**

 **000**

Lycanroc was seen asleep in the tattered remnants of her room. Her bed covers were torn to shreds and strewn about as she lie over the edge of the bed. Her right hind leg twitched in her sleep.

 **000**

The next day

 **000**

As sunlight beamed through the drapes of his room, a certain ghost- and grass-type was beginning to awaken. Yawning, the Sea Creeper Pokemon floated off of his nail and smacked his non-existent lips.

The annoying anchor-seaweed combo felt very accomplished with how things have gone in the game. Not only had he managed to keep himself in the game for this long while pissing everyone off, he had another advantage because of Tsareena doing something stupid. It was so hilarious seeing Hakamo-o yell at her, and having Lycanroc fall under the same trance as the other Pokemon. It was a guarantee for him, no doubt.

He decided to switch the television on and watch some television. He hadn't really done that in a while. Flicking through the channels, he came across an episode of Kitchen Nightmares, which intrigued him. He just loved the insults the host gave the restaurant owners; sure, some were rather dull, but other times the arguments were priceless.

He decided to go ahead and head down to the cafe for his usual berry fix. He already knew that the other three finalists and the hosts hated his guts, but he didn't care. All he had to do now was let their hatred flow and screw them over.

Dhelmise floated toward his door. Phasing through it, he stopped in the hallway. He then floated down through the floor, stopping once he made it to the second floor. Being a ghost-type always had its perks.

He floated through the cafe doors and was surprised to see Tsareena sitting at a table. She was face down in a tub of Marshmallow Ice Cream, apparently asleep. He stifled his laughter. "Idiotic at one point, competent in the next. She is one fickle bitch…"

The agitator floated over to the fruit and grabbed his usual plate of berries, ignoring the snoozing Fruit Pokemon. He was surprised to see that it wasn't the same type of berries, but he wasn't complaining. He grabbed a few pink, flower-like berries with brown stems, and a couple of round green and pink berries.

Eerily whistling, he began heading back out of the cafe. As he approached the door, Hakamo-o and Lycanroc entered. Upon seeing their enemy, Hakamo-o glowered at him, while Lycanroc just gave him a nonchalant expression.

"Ladies…" he greeted as he passed by the two of them with his platter of berries.

As he left, Hakamo-o folded her arms, grumbling as her eyes followed him out and up through the ceiling. "Fucking bastard…"

Lycanroc nudged her in the shoulder, getting her attention. Following that, Lycanroc pointed toward Tsareena. "Are we just gonna ignore the fact that she's face down in a tub of ice cream?"

Hakamo-o scoffed. "Might as well," she responded, walking over to the food stations. "She's the reason that Dhelmise has an advantage in tonight's challenge."

Lycanroc sighed in exasperation; she walked over toward Tsareena's unconscious form. She began lightly shaking her in order to wake her. Tsareena jolted awake from the jostling and looked around, making Lycanroc take a couple of steps back.

Tsareena panted, looking around the room before looking at Lycanroc. "What the hell happened?"

As Lycanroc was about to explain, Hakamo-o chimed in ever so graciously. "You fell asleep with your fat face buried into a tub of ice cream… although it looks like something else…"

Lycanroc gave Hakamo-o a look before turning back to Tsareena. "You alright?"

Grabbing a napkin from the napkin dispenser on the table, Tsareena wiped the white cream off of her face. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just still so disappointed in myself…"

"Well, you gave-"

"Haka!" Lycanroc interrupted, giving her friend a look. "Pestering her about her mistake won't help anything. Plus, she's already feeling bad! You'd just be kicking her while she's down, which is something we condemn Dhelmise for doing!"

Hakamo-o gave Lycanroc a look. "Lyca, I'm nowhere near as bad as that waste of space. Look, I'm sorry that I'm nervous, okay? That bastard was in the final three, guaranteed, before and he only got it revoked because of his blabbermouth. Now that he's got an advantage and he's less likely to talk shit to us, he could very well make the final three again!"

"Well, we just have to ensure that his advantage _isn't_ an advantage…" Tsareena explained.

"Yeah… like we were doing earlier while we were still in teams!" Lycanroc recalled, taking a seat. "Use the other team's advantage for our own!"

"That'll depend on what it is," Hakamo-o acknowledged as she stopped putting pieces of bacon on her plate. "It doesn't sound like that bad of an idea. And what makes it even better is that Dhelmise is the one who started that trend for us in the first place..."

"And what better way to take him out… then by using his own tactic," Lycanroc added, hoping to make both girls feel a bit better. She was still very nervous about the situation herself, but she simply tried to keep her head on straight and remain level-headed and cool, just as she was throughout the game up until the Victini cast crossover.

"Well," Tsareena started, gazing up at the clock on the wall. It was 9:19 ante meridiem, and on Mondays, challenges were at night, so they had about eleven or twelve hours before any of this could really happen. "We've got more than ten hours until we're able to put this plan into effect. What do we do until then?"

"Well, I'm going back to bed…" Hakamo-o replied as he started taking her plate out of the cafe.

" _You_ going _back_ to bed?" Lycanroc queried, surprised to hear that. "That's new…"

"I stayed up until around midnight talking to Lucario…" Hakamo-o explained breezily.

Upon hearing that, Lycanroc's eyes widened and she gasped upon hearing that. She swiftly rushed over to Hakamo-o and held her by the shoulders. "Tell… me… everything…"

Hakamo-o had to stifle a giggle, however, she still kept a straight face. "Calm down, girl," she teased. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

" _That_ big. So, technically, it's still a big deal," Lycanroc playfully pried.

Hakamo-o gave her friend a look that said 'really?'. Upon seeing this look, Lycanroc could only giggle. "Come on, seriously. Did you guys finally come to an agreement or something?"

"Uh…" Hakamo-o looked at Tsareena from the corner of her eye. "We can talk back on our floor…"

Lycanroc rose a brow in confusion; she looked at Tsareena, who started walking toward the breakfast food. Nevertheless, she decided to respect the Scaly Pokemon's wishes, nodding in agreement.

The two of them proceeded to exit the cafe, leaving Tsareena alone. Looking back over, the Fruit Pokemon shrugged her shoulders.

 **000**

" **It isn't my business how their relationships are going. I am simply here to test, observe, and - hmmm… actually, in that case, relationships** _ **would**_ **be interesting to test. Her significant other isn't here, but it wouldn't hurt…" Tsareena reasoned. "And Dhelmise… well, like Lycanroc planned, we'll just use his advantage** _ **against**_ **him…"**

" **This should be interesting…"**

 **000**

Exiting the elevator, Lycanroc playfully slumped onto Hakamo-o's back, almost making her drop her platter. "So… gimme the deets. What'd you two talk about?"

Hakamo-o shook her head at her friend's impatience. "Question. Would _you_ tell _me_ about these kinds of things if our situations were reversed?"

"Of course I would!" Lycanroc chirped, chortling a bit. "Why would I not?"

"Oh I don't know… maybe for privacy?!" Hakamo-o retorted as they reached the dragon- and fighting-type's room.

"Haka… we're on television…" Lycanroc replied, pointing to the cameras in the corners of the hall. "I don't think privacy is a prerogative…"

Hakamo-o let out a sigh before entering her room, with Lycanroc following. The effervescent lupine hopped onto the edge of Hakamo-o's bed, lying on her stomach. She groaned in comfort. "So soft…"

Hakamo-o ignored her comment as got back into her bed, draping the covers back over lower body. She didn't say anything and just started gnawing on a piece of bacon. Lycanroc, seeing her demeanor, started feeling a bit bad about prying. She was just playing around.

She got up and crawled toward the head of the bed before taking a seat next to her; she didn't place the covers over herself as well, though. "Uh… sorry for bugging you so much... You don't have to tell me anything. It's your and Lucario's business," she apologized after seeing her expression.

Hakamo-o, hearing the apology, let out a playful sigh and wrapped her right arm around the wolf's shoulders. "You're alright. Just… try to lay off a bit, okay?"

Lycanroc smiled, nuzzling her friend. "Well, I'll get out of your hair…" Lycanroc replied, preparing to get out of her bed.

"No, no, I just said you're alright," Hakamo-o giggled, patting her back. "I'll tell you what's been going on…"

Lycanroc's tail wagged slightly.

 **000**

Numerous hours later, Lunala awoke in a vicinity that she was familiar with, but was surprised that she was still there. She let out a screechy yawn before folding the sheet corner back and levitating out of the bed.

She was in a completely black room with a red ceiling and floor, the red paint oozing down the sides. The room was pentagonal, which was very strange, and there was a pentagram-like symbol carved into the wall. A television was hanging on the wall over the pentagram, which was showing static, but had no sound.

The bed was relatively… uncomfortable. The mattress wasn't soft at all, and the sheets were pretty itchy. There was a rug made entirely of rusty nails near the door. Lunala looked at the cracked clock, seeing that it was nearing 9 post meridiem, she sighed, just as the owner of the room opened it.

Lunala gained a salacious grin as Yveltal entered the door. "Hey there~."

Yveltal blinked. "What are you still doing in here?" he asked gruffly, ignoring her greeting. "Shouldn't you be doing your stupid show by now?"

Lunala's mood quickly switched. "Well, I was about to leave when you came in. Just… felt like greeting, I guess…"

Yveltal just blinked in response; the two of them stared at each other for a while. Yveltal held an irritated expression, while Lunala still had a small smile on her face. Eventually though, Yveltal flew forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Get out…" he stated demandingly.

Lunala nodded, stifling a giggle. "Right. Uh… love you…"

Yveltal gave her a look. The Destruction Pokemon wasn't one to show love or care for anything or anyone; he only cared for the pain, death, and or misery of others. However, despite his usual sadistic and deadpan personality, he harbored positive feelings toward the Moone Pokemon.

With a groan, he mumbled, "I love you, too," to her. Lunala kissed his cheek before teleporting away.

 **000**

The elevator doors opened, with Dhelmise whistling an old pirate melody as he exited them. As he headed toward the usual lobby chair he rested in, a blue light radiated in the middle of the lobby. Knowing what this meant, Dhelmise groaned to himself in both annoyance and confusion. The challenges usually started a bit later, allowing him to get a nap in the lobby chair in.

Lunala, upon seeing Dhelmise already there, scowled. She didn't even want to interact with the jerky Sea Creeper Pokemon, so his mere presence was giving her an ulcer.

Floating past him, Lunala went toward the front desk. She pressed the button down. "CONTESTANTS! COME ON DOWN! IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!"

After making the announcement, she decided to wait at the desk for them to come down. Her eyes were shooting daggers at the ghost- and grass-type, who proceeded to float over and rest in the lobby chair.

" _Someone's particularly bitchy tonight… she really needs to get laid. Unless she's PMSing…_ ," Dhelmise thought to himself.

After a minute or two, the elevator doors opened, and Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Tsareena proceeded out of them, allowing Lunala to fly forward and get back into her usual position. She cleared her throat. "Greetings ladies… and piece of shit…"

Dhelmise rolled his eyes. It was a given at this point.

"Prepare yourself for one of two challenges before the penultimate challenge…" Lunala hosted.

Hakamo-o chuckled, cracking her knuckles. "Bring it on!"

Lycanroc smirked, folding her arms. Tsareena kept a dazed expression, all the while thinking of possible strategies to out Lycanroc in the next challenge, whatever it was.

Dhelmise didn't show any particular care for the notice.

"Now, let's head to Ula'Ula Island, and I'll explain the challenge there…"

A bright blue light enveloped the five of them before they each vanished.

 **000**

The final four, and Lunala appeared in front of what looked like a store of sorts. The building had blue walls, and normal, beige brick pillars aiding in its structure. There was a pokeball-like front wall. Blue fences, the same tint of blue as the building's walls, were surrounding the area.

"Welcome to the Thrifty Megamart! The site of your next challenge!" Lunala introduced.

"The abandoned grocery store?" Lycanroc queried. "I mean, no complaints, but… it's weird."

Lunala gazed tentatively at her. "It'll be fine. Now, you each will be given a list of 'groceries' that you will have to retrieve from the inside of the store. Once you retrieve one of the items, you must run back out, get down to the beach, and swim toward the lighthouse. There, you will see four different baskets with your names on them. Then, you must swim back and repeat the process until your list is finished."

" _Really? Glorified grocery shopping? This is what the challenge quality has come down, too?"_ Dhelmise thought annoyedly to himself.

"And Dhelmise, you are NOT allowed to levitate over the water…" Lunala said with a piercing gaze toward him.

" _Figures…_ "

"And you all had better be quick when searching for your grocery items, because _this_ is an automatic elimination challenge!" Lunala announced. "The last player to get all of their groceries will be going home…"

The contestants' eyes all widened. Dhelmise grinned to himself on the inside, while Hakamo-o and Lycanroc exchanged confident expressions. Tsareena simply nodded.

"Now, for you guys' lists…" Lunala said as four lists appeared in front of her, floating in mid-air. Three out of the four lists went into the possession of Tsareena, Lycanroc, and Hakamo-o. "Now, as much as it _pains_ to do this. Because Dhelmise won the previous challenge, he only has to retrieve _half_ the amount of items that you girls have to retrieve…"

The final list went into the possession of the ghost- and grass-type, who was very satisfied. The girls glowered at him. They had to either sabotage him or do their best to find their items expeditiously.

"Now, inside of the mart, there are the standard shelves and produce sections, as well as carts. However, there are also boxes inside that may contain what you're looking for; you will have to dig deep and search every nook and cranny for certain items…" Lunala explained. "It's going to take a while, but I'm sure that you guys will be able to pull it off. And Dhelmise, again, you are not allowed to use any kinesis, ghostly influence, psychic influence, or really _any_ influence that will make this challenge go by easy for you…"

"No playing smart… got it…" he finally responded in reality.

Lunala rolled her eyes. "Your challenge begins… NOW!"

Dhelmise swiftly floated into the mart, with the girls rushing after him.

 **000**

Entering the mart, the four of them were immediately hit with a smell of rotting fruits and vegetables, as well as possible fecal matter from feral Pokemon that took residence there.

The mart was very disheveled and ugly to look at. The floor tiles were all murky, chipped, and some were missing from the floor altogether. The tiles were also coated in a sticky substance that stuck to the soles of their feet.

There was dust visible in the air, as well as some on the checkout counter. There were cobwebs around the store as well. The ambience in the vicinity was very ominous, with a soft, whirring noise being heard the entire time.

There were overturned, rusty carts lying around, as well as boxes that Lunala was talking about. The shelves were still stocked, strangely enough, with the ones that were leaning or completely on the ground dumping their contents on the floor.

"Well… this isn't creepy at all…" Lycanroc commented.

Dhelmise immediately started floating toward the back of the store, while Tsareena immediately started searching the shelves.

Hakamo-o and Lycanroc exchanged looks and started looking over their lists. Each list held eight items, minus Dhelmise's, who had half, meaning that he only had to find four measly items. Then, he'd easily qualify.

"Okay, what do we do?" Lycanroc inquired. "We don't want Dhelmise to win, but we still have to search for more stuff than him!"

"No, we don't, and yes, we do. I don't even know…" Hakamo-o replied. "We'll have to stop him whenever he makes it to the door. For now, let's just search. I have to find a… box of Honey Glazed Cinnamon Chunks…"

"Ooh~ those sound tasty…" Lycanroc commented before she gazed down at her list. "Meanwhile, I have to find toilet paper… Hooray," she remarked unenthusiastically.

"It doesn't matter what, we just have to hurry up," Hakamo-o expressed. "Now let's go!"

Lycanroc nodded before the two of them separated to look for their own separate items.

 **000**

Tsareena overlooked her list. Her list consisted of: Cheesy Crackers, Malt Liquor, Bananas, Vienna Sausages, Cream Corn, Spaghetti Noodles, a Hairbrush, and a twelve-pack of Orange Soda.

With a sigh, she continued searching around the store, dumping contents that weren't what she needed onto the floor. She didn't care if the others needed it or not at this point. Dhelmise was bound to be done quickly… so there was no point in even trying to hinder him.

She was currently on the canned vegetables and fruit aisle, and seeing Lycanroc rush past her from behind really got her anxious. She knew that it'd be a betrayal, but it'd be necessary for her own survival.

She continued knocking over cans of beans, pears, and Pinap Berries. Moving down the aisle, she continued tossing cans out of the way in an attempt to find the corn section.

"Come on… I need to find these things fast…" she pushed herself as she continued moving along the aisle, eventually nearing the end of it. As she sidestepped down the aisle, she tripped over a box that was in the middle of it.

She grumbled as she picked herself up. She then recalled that Lunala said that boxes may hold some contents that may be on their lists. Tsareena quickly ripped the tape off of the opening of the cardboard box and moved the flaps back, only to reveal…

"Marshmallows?!" she groaned in aggravation as she dumped out the contents of the box. Twenty-five bags of marshmallows fell onto the sticky floor.

She started searching the opposite side of the shelves, and there, was a lone can of cream corn sitting on the top shelf. Smirking to herself, she swiftly grabbed it and started rushing toward the doors.

On her way, she felt a presence over her shoulder, but she continued until she reached the door. There, Dhelmise knocked her out of the way, a bottle of lotion floating beside him.

Tsareena gasped and growled before picking herself up yet again and rushing after him.

 **000**

Lycanroc went down an aisle, glancing at the shelves on either side. This was the toiletry aisle, so she expected to see toilet paper, much to her surprise, though, there were cereal and cookie boxes sitting on the shelves.

"Hmm… Haka should be look over here…" she said to herself. "Hey! Haka! There's some cereal stuff on this aisle!"

Immediately, sticky footsteps were heard as Hakamo-o came from around a corner and rushed up to her. "What've you got?" she queried, stopping next to the Wolf Pokemon.

"Nothing, just cereal…" Lycanroc replied. "You didn't happen to see any toilet paper on the aisle you were on, did you?"

"No!" Hakamo-o responded, looking around. "This place is just screwed beyond repair. Nothing's where it's supposed to be…"

"Well, we need to hurry up and find _something_ on our lists!" Lycanroc replied. "Tsareena and Dhelmise are already ahead! What else is on your list!?"

"Uh… other than the cereal, " Hakamo-o started, taking out her list once again. "...steak, towels, a toilet scrubber, lettuce, Chez Mix, Cream of Wheat, and oranges. What about you?"

"TP, chocolate milk, paper towels, muffins, Mint Gum, eggs, bacon, and Potato Chips…" Lycanroc read from her list before stuffing it back into her mane.

"Okay, so we just need to let each other know when and if we find anything from either of our lists!" Hakamo-o made known. "And maybe, we'll at least be able to beat Tsareena…"

Lycanroc nodded before they high-fived. Lycanroc decided to hurry and go to another aisle to scope things out. She went to the back of the store and turned to the left, seeing numerous soiled newspapers, alongside boxes. She rose a brow before heading toward them.

The boxes were soaked and reeked of mildew, which made her a bit hesitant about the state of the contents. Nevertheless, she swiftly opened one of the boxes and saw that it was full of fruit. _Rotting_ fruit. The pungent smell hit her nose and made her whine momentarily; she swiftly closed the box.

Now she was worried about the other one. She swiped at it, creating claw marks on the side, allowing her to peer inside slightly. It looked like something wrapped in plastic, meaning that the smell was possibly held in. Peeling back the flaps, she saw numerous packs of college-rule paper.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" she mumbled to herself as she closed the box and pushed it back into its spot near the wall.

 **000**

With Dhelmise only having to find four items, well three, considering he was already heading to the lighthouse, Hakamo-o was panicking in her head. She didn't want it to have it come down to herself and Lycanroc, because then she wouldn't know what to do.

She cared too much about Lycanroc at this point to just betray her, and Lycanroc wouldn't want to just take away _her_ chance. So, they'd end up at a stand still.

She continued searching around, before finally identifying a sideways turned box. Its front was facing away from her, so she reached forward to grab it. Grabbing it, she brought it toward herself and saw that it was-

"Chez Mix!" she cheered to herself, face pumping.

She quickly started running out of the mart, running right into Dhelmise, who was sopping wet. The Sea Creeper Pokemon moved out of the way and went back into the mart. Hakamo-o growled before continuing on her way.

 **000**

Dhelmise immediately floated toward the back of the store. His list consisted of lotion, marshmallows, Kool-Aid Mix, and parsley. He had found the lotion in almost no time flat, and on his way out, he saw a few spice canisters, meaning that he would likely get the parsley with ease.

Tsareena had tried attacking him in the water, but she failed and he was able to get back to the mart easily.

" _These morons honestly have no idea what to do_ ," Dhelmise chortled in his head as he went to the aisle where he last saw the spices. " _Hmm… perhaps I should just get all of my items situated and just… yeah. That'll be perfect."_

As he went down the aisle, he looked around and saw old, rusty tools sitting on the shelves, as well as pill bottles, tampons, and wet, cracked teapots. He groaned. "This is ridiculous, even for an abandoned store…"

He finally reached the spices, and started looking over the labels in order to identify the parsley. He saw Lycanroc move around the back in the corner of his 'eyes'. He would have attempted to do something to hinder her, but eh, no point at the moment.

"Let's see... turmeric, lemon pepper, ground black pepper, lemon salt, sea salt, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon…" Dhelmise read as he lifted up every turned and high-placed canister. "Where the hell is the parsley?!"

Suddenly, soft creaking was heard as the shelves he was searching began lurching forward. Soon enough, it completely toppled over onto the ghost. On the other side of the shelves was Tsareena, who was sopping wet, and panting heavily.

Dhelmise phased through the shelves and glowered at the Fruit Pokemon in unamusement. At this point, he was sure that she was just playing a role. She had still given the her the benefit of the doubt during their swim, but what truly dumb person would push a shelf over someone on purpose? It would have been accidental at most.

" _Well, I've gotta say, I'm impressed_ ," Dhelmise said in his head, as Solgaleo's rule most likely transferred over to this challenge as well. He _really_ wanted to rub it in, but the hosts still had a metaphorical choke hold on him. However, though he couldn't insult her vocally, they didn't say anything about mentally…

As Tsareena started walking toward another aisle, her legs emitting a _slink_ sound every time she took a step. Dhelmise decided to follow her and heckle her all the while. Who knows? Maybe she'll lead him to something he needs.

" _So, I can see that you've finally given up on that dumb bitch facade…"_ he said to her through telepathy, which caused her to stop in her tracks and clench her fists.

 **000**

Tsareena couldn't believe it; this bastard actually figured her out?! She growled aggravatedly at him, turning around. "Fuck… off…"

" _Aww… what's the matter?"_ she heard Dhelmise tease inside of her mind. " _Upset that I figured out your little game?"_

"I said… fuck off!" Tsareena retorted as she turned down a different aisle in order to look for more items. Strangely, she had gone down the same aisle that she had retrieved her corn from. However, the box that was full of marshmallows was no longer there, and neither were the cans of other foods.

This confused her majorly, and with Dhelmise in her head, heckling her, it didn't make things any better…

" _I've gotta admit, you did a great performance. But, even_ _so, I've gotta ask,"_ Dhelmise started. " _Why?"_

Tsareena huffed as she looked around and saw a box of spaghetti noodles far back on a high shelf. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

She began trying to leap up and grab

Dhelmise cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose _I_ could be of assistance…"

Tsareena froze. Had she just heard that correctly? _Dhelmise_ , the guy that intentionally made insensitive, derogatory, and downright annoying remarks to piss everyone off and put them down, was offering her _help_? She didn't buy it.

"Did I hear that correctly?" Tsareena queried. " _You_ are offering _me_ , assistance? Why?"

Dhelmise metaphorically shrugged. "You've gained my respect. Any girl brazen enough to fake her intelligence all the way into the final four is a good 'un on my account. Though, there was always a chance that you wouldn't get brought back, so I can't really extend my respect _that_ far…"

Tsareena rolled her eyes. "Well, thanks for the offer, I guess, but I think I'll be able to work alone…"

"Whatever…" Dhelmise responded. "Though, I still want you to answer my question…"

"I don't have to explain myself to you…" Tsareena retorted with a glare as she started climbing up the shelf and reaching back for the box of spaghetti noodles.

Dhelmise snorted. "If you say so…" he said as he started floating away.

 **000**

" **That bastard figures me out and then randomly tries to help me?" Tsareena queried in bemusement. "Terrible…"**

" **How the hell did he find out anyway!?"**

 **000**

" **Poor sap," Dhelmise stated. "I would have offered an allegiance with her in order to get rid of the other two. But, I guess she's more of a lone moron…"**

 **000**

Lycanroc, rather than just rushing back and forth and wasting time, decided to try and gather all of her items up first, similar to what Dhelmise wanted to do. So far she had gathered the carton of eggs, some paper towels, and an old, expired pack of TogeMint Gum.

Every time she went down an aisle, something changed. She then gazed tentatively at the checkout stations near the front and noticed a few drawers and small shelves around them. She rose a brow and started heading toward them.

The stickiness of the floor and the sound emitted from her pawsteps caused her to become a bit annoyed, so she hurried and made it up to the stations. Crouching down to check the first one, she plugged her nose, as she identified an old, rotten, half-eaten burger sitting underneath it. There was also a spray bottle full of of an unidentified cleaning solution.

Sighing, Lycanroc got back onto her feet and proceeded on to the next one. As she did, she happened to look in the doorway and saw Hakamo-o emerge, panting and sopping wet.

"Arceus, that fucking sucks…" the Scaly Pokemon remarked before letting out a few coughs as she proceeded toward Lycanroc.

It sure had taken Hakamo-o a while to make it back. Lycanroc had found three out of her eight items already for crying out loud! As Hakamo-o headed her way, Tsareena sped out of the mart, causing the red wolf to start feeling a bit of anxiety.

"You find anything while I was gone?" Hakamo-o inquired.

"Huh? Uh… yeah. I ended up finding three of my things and now I'm searching these ," Lycanroc explained.

"Oh…" Hakamo-o drawled, hoping to hear that she had found at least one of _her_ items for her. That was their agreement, right?

"And… I did see a few of your things like the cereal, but when I went down the aisle again, it was gone…" Lycanroc explained.

"What?!"

"Yeah, it's weird…" Lycanroc continued as she dragged out a box that was underneath the second station.

Hakamo-o groaned as she looked around the vicinity. "This whole place is weird… and crummy…" she remarked kicking a lone pebble that was near her.

"Don't forget _sticky_ ," Lycanroc added, placing a paw onto the counter of the station and lifting it up, producing a velcro-esque sound. Hakamo-o sighed. "I'm gonna go look again and see if I can find any of my other things…"

Upon hearing that, Lycanroc halted the box opening in order to catch up with her. She rushed up behind her and grasped onto her back, wrapping her arms around her neck playfully. "Here's a tip; I've been looking for _all_ of my things so I can just make the trips to and from the lighthouse easy."

Hakamo-o nodded. "Thanks…"

Lycanroc pat her back before heading back toward the front. As she went back up to it, she noticed that the box was now open and the contents were gone. However, colorful powders were seen inside of the box. Lycanroc growled softly as she gazed toward the door, seeing Dhelmise floating away .

 **000**

Hakamo-o had stopped in the aisle she was in, reaching down in order to pick up a can of Cream of Wheat. "Alright, cool…" she commented to herself as she got back up. She headed toward the back end of the store, eyeing an overturned shopping cart over another box.

She approached it and immediately felt herself being shoved back by an unseen force. "What the hell?" she asked herself as the can of Cream of Wheat in her hand started floating up and out of it. She leapt up, grabbing onto it, resulting in her floating up with it. Lunala didn't mention _anything_ about this kind of thing happening.

"WHOA!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she was suddenly flipped and slammed onto the ground, her hand still holding onto the can. Groaning, the dragon- and fighting-type growled angrily. "DHELMISE! I SWEAR IF THIS IS YOUR DOING-!"

She didn't get a response, which she had figured would be the case if it _was_ him. "You doing this is just gonna get you eliminated, so feel free to continue…" Hakamo-o responded cockily as she got onto her feet.

Immediately afterwards, she was thrown into the shelves, causing a domino effect that knocked all of them over. Groaning, Hakamo-o growled, getting onto her feet once again as the can floated in front of her face before beginning to spin around her head.

Getting annoyed, Hakamo-o snatched it and used Shadow Claw, which, surprisingly, made contact with something. A Gengar was seen on the ground, groaning. Seeing this, Hakamo-o glowered at the Shadow Pokemon. "What the hell was that about?!"

In response, the Gengar immediately disappeared again, making Hakamo-o facepalm herself.

 **000**

" **I have to say… this challenge is the worst…" Hakamo-o commented, folding her arms.**

 **000**

Dhelmise had seen the box Hakamo-o dragged from the checkout station. He had opened it up and found that it was filled with Kool-Aid packs. He immediately levitated all of them out of the box and headed out. However, as he went down the ramp and onto the beach, the problem arose.

"Thin packs of kool-aid… going into a large body of water…" Dhelmise said to himself. "This is going to be shitty as all hell…"

The anchor floated into the water and started floating at a normal pace toward the lighthouse, just as he did before. The raging rapids and the crashing of the waves caused a bit of a hindrance for him and almost caused him to lose the packs he had.

After a while, he finally made it to the lighthouse and emerged from the torrent. He eyed his basket and dropped the packs into it before heading back down into the water. As the Sea Creeper Pokemon made his way back to the shore, negative thoughts began entering his mind. However, they weren't negative thoughts about himself, but rather about how this challenge would play out.

" _I'm floating and levitating things because of my lack of available limbs, but that bitch may just decide to cheat me out and say that I broke her shitty rules…"_ he thought to himself. " _Or those dumb bitches may find my things and decide to toss them out or sabotage my items up here."_

"I love how if I do or say something unflattering, I'm considering a nuisance and hindrance when I'm just playing the damn game and having my own fun," Dhelmise spoke to himself. He then began thinking broader about how other shows like this go.

 **000**

" **I find it funny how people in these stupid shows and the equally idiotic viewers think that because a person manipulates, calculates, says something 'mean', or plans out how they are going to play the game, they're a horrible being that deserves to be hated and get karma," Dhelmise stated. "IT'S CALLED PLAYING THE DAMN GAME! Sheesh, people act like every single competition needs to be nothing but good guys who are going to use the money for charity or some other generic bullshit."**

" **You are supposed to play smart. You are supposed to try and make it far. People are GOING TO LOSE. THAT IS THE POINT OF A COMPETITION! If you're butthurt about anything someone else or maybe even I have done in these bullshit torture-fest competition, then you'll never make it far in life. Life is not all sunshine and lollipops, bitches. People are able to be mean and negative, too."**

 **000**

Tsareena had already been swimming toward the lighthouse when Dhelmise placed his packs into his basket. She cursed to herself as she eventually made it to the lighthouse and tossed the box of spaghetti into her own basket, all the while panting erratically.

She took note of Dhelmise's basket. His two, soaked, items sitting there, completely in the open. She looked around, as if expecting to see someone, before looking back down at the basket of the pestiferous player.

"Hmm… there aren't any rules against sabotage… for us anyway…" Tsareena reasoned before she attempted to kick Dhelmise's basket off of the lighthouse base. When she did so, the basket simply shifted a bit, not moving from its spot.

"What the-" the Fruit Pokemon bent down to pick up her own basket, but found that it didn't budge either. In doing this, she realized that the baskets were likely superglued or forced to stay down by some other means. "Fuuuuuuuck…"

With a sigh, she swiftly ran down and dove into the water, swimming back to the shore.

 **000**

Lycanroc had finally found a single roll of toilet paper in one of the aisles. She had finally identified the trick. Whenever anyone went down an aisle, everything on it changed, so she simply entered and backed out of aisles until she found items that she needed, which included a pack of bacon, a box of mini-muffins, and the toilet paper.

The wolf stashed her items in an empty box she had found near the back door of the mart. She hadn't really thought to look there at all, as it seemed to be useless if the aisles were a thing. She thought about it momentarily before seeing her box topple over suddenly.

She jumped a bit and rose a brow. "What the- How did-" she went over and started placing the muffins and bacon back into the box, only for her to be thrown back and her box to eject all of her items. The egg carton, upon impact, opened and cracked numerous eggs, making the Wolf Pokemon growl. "What the hell was that?!"

Hakamo-o, hearing her friend's outcry, peaked around the corner of the aisle she was on to see what was going on. Upon seeing her friend's toilet paper, paper towels, and gum begin moving in a vertical circle, she knew what it was. "HEY! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM THE FOODSTUFFS AND WIPING ITEMS!"

Immediately, the items were dropped onto the floor as Lycanroc got back onto her feet. She looked at Hakamo-o with bemusement. "Uh...what was that?" she asked as she went to pick up her items once again.

"Lunala forgot to mention that there was a jackass Gengar running around trying to sabotage us…" Hakamo-o explained. "I uh… might have attacked him every single time he fucked with me. Didn't you freaking hear me constantly cursing and slamming into things?!"

"Yes, and when I asked what was wrong, you didn't answer…" Lycanroc replied with a smug expression.

Hakamo-o grumbled to herself. "But yeah, that prick had better mess with Dhelmise and Tsareena because it is NOT costing me this game…"

Lycanroc giggled at this. "And have you found any more of your items yet?" she teased.

"Uh… well… I found my toilet scrubber, a crate of oranges, and a stack of washing towels…" Hakamo-o explained, pointing to the first checkout station near the front, where those three items, including the Cream of Wheat from earlier, sat. "And luckily, with that stupid Gengar and Dhelmise in check, we're scot-free.

"Yeah… but- Tsareena is still in the competition, and if Dhelmise-"

"I heard my name…" the anchor said as he made himself seen. "What's going on?"

Hakamo-o scoffed. "None of your business, jackass…"

Dhelmise smacked his non-existent lips. "Y'know if Solgaleo hadn't put this damned threat over my head, i'd destroy you…" he replied before simply floating away.

"Asshole…" Hakamo-o grumbled before turning back to Lycanroc, who had to count up and make sure all of her items were accounted for. "How many more things do _you_ need?"

"Just chips and Chocolate Milk," Lycanroc replied. "Huh, two things that sound surprisingly good right about now…"

"Well we'll eat _after_ we're in the final three…"Hakamo-o responded, patting her back.

"Well, you'd better hurry and find your last few items then before Tsareena-"

Tsareena suddenly came in, panting like mad from the swim. She immediately headed down the first aisle she saw, identifying a small can of Vienna Sausages on the middle shelf. She grabbed it and prepared to head back out of the mart. However, she noticed that there was a hairbrush underneath the checkout station closest to the door.

" _Lunala said that you had to take the items one at a time… but she didn't say from where…"_ she thought as she grabbed the hairbrush. Hakamo-o and Lycanroc went to the front just as she rushed back out.

"Did she just find her next thing _that_ fast?!" Lycanroc rhetorically queried.

"Why yes she did…" Dhelmise said, leaving the furthest aisle with a bag of marshmallows _and_ a shaker of parsley. "She's been faking her stupidity the entire time apparently…"

The girls had to act surprised and shocked, but they just couldn't bring themselves to worry about _that_ when Dhelmise had his last two items!

"Hey, dipshit! Lunala said one at a time!" Hakamo-o growled. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Dhelmise ignored her, just continuing out of the mart.

Hakamo-o growled before turning to Lycanroc. "We need to hurry! Maybe we won't beat Dhelmise, but we can for sure beat Tsareena!"

Lycanroc nodded before they rushed back into the mart.

 **000**

Tsareena had lightly buried her can of Vienna Sausages in a sand mound before swimming with her hairbrush. After placing it into her basket, she looked back at the shore and saw Dhelmise enter the water.

She growled as she dove into the water and rightfully, swam underneath in order to deal with Dhelmise. Once he was close enough, Tsareena's body glowed blue and she began swimming much faster. Dhelmise, seeing this, groaned in annoyance.

He simply floated upwards which, surprisingly, didn't help him out. Tsareena successfully struck him with Acrobatics, incapacitating the ghost- and grass-type.

The parsley, was simply floating down in the sand, which was perfectly fine with Tsareena. She quickly swam back toward the surface before continuing to swim to the shore.

 **000**

" **Easy…" Tsareena said rather braggadociously, whipping her hair back.**

 **000**

"And… GOT IT!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, grabbing the box of Honey Glazed Cinnamon Chunks. " That's my last thing! Now you just need your chocolate milk and you'll be fine!"

"Yeah, but you just go ahead, I'll be okay," Lycanroc assured. "I'm gonna check the back room because it felt a bit cold back there when I got everything back in my box…"

"Well… alright," Hakamo-o said, sounding very worried. "Just be careful. Hearing people go on their own ands say they'll be okay is usually recipe for disaster…"

"Pfft," Lycanroc replied, waving a paw. "I'll be fine…"

Hakamo-o nodded. "Alright. I'll see you in the finals…"

Hakamo-o flipped over an old cart, which still all of its wheels, and started piling her items inside. While she did that, Lycanroc headed toward the back room. She initially denounced checking it, but she decided to see what it held anyway. If it was empty, the aisles were still a thing. If there were things inside, good news for them.

Lycanroc made it to the back room, with her box still sitting there. She attempted to open the door, but found that it was stuck. The knob was twisting, but it was highly likely that something was blocking the door.

"Well, if this is the case…" Lycanroc started before she picked up her box and started moving away. "If that door doesn't want to be entered, I'll look somewhere else for the milk…"

Tsareena, having made it back to retrieve a few of her items first, heard that and looked to her side. There was a full jug of chocolate milk on the bottom shelf beside her. Last time she checked, Hakamo-o was rolling her cart outside, so Lycanroc _had_ to be the target. Well, unless she decided to do something to Hakamo-o instead.

Tsareena decided to leave it be for now, as it'd disappear once the aisle was re-entered. She picked up a twelve-pack of orange soda before heading back toward the front door. It was pretty heavy, making her unsure about how she was going to swim with it.

Lycanroc started heading back toward the front, resting her box onto the nearest station. She went down the middle aisle, and began moving back and forth through it in order to try and find her final item.

 **000**

Dhelmise groaned to himself as he regained consciousness while under water. He shook himself off and looked around, taking note of where he was. "What the hell?"

The last thing he remembered was that Tsareena attacked him and he blacked out. He growled in agitation, but then realized that he didn't have his canister of parsley anymore. There were two possibilities. Either Tsareena stole it and hid it, or it was somewhere in the sand below.

He looked up and noticed that Hakamo-o was swimming toward the lighthouse. He knew that _he_ would get called out for sabotaging them, so he just decided to cut out the middleman and just go down deeper to search for his parsley.

He made it to the bottom of the ocean and started sifting through the sediment and sand at the bottom, using his anchor as a plow. After a few minutes, Dhelmise was able to retrieve his container of parsley, which was partially cracked.

"Ugh… dirty little…" he grumbled to himself before swimming toward the large rock on which the lighthouse stood, the parsley floating around him. He looked up and saw Hakamo-o swimming back toward the shore. He 'swam' upwards and started heading up the lighthouse, tossing the parsley into his basket.

He remained silent for the rest of the way. There was no use is saying anything or thinking negatively if there was nothing he could do. He originally didn't care about winning at all, and he was only here to have his own fun heckling and insulting others. At this point, since he practically banned from doing it, he was going to just play the game and ignore the others.

 **000**

" **Yep, I can get knocked out, but I can't do anything to retaliate because Solgaleo will kick me out the next time he hosts the challenge…" Dhelmise said. "** _ **Wonderful**_ **. This is fairness, guys."**

" **We'll see how they feel when I win. I'm going to burn the money right in front of them and make it so it all meant nothing. That way I win twice," he chuckled.**

 **000**

The ghost- and grass-type made it to the shore just as Hakamo-o started swimming again. Dhelmise also saw that Tsareena was nearing the lighthouse and seemed to be struggling a bit. He went behind the rock and got his last pack of marshmallows before going right back into the water.

 **-000-**

Lycanroc rolled her own cart down to the beach, seeing all of her fellow competitors in the water. She took a breath and grabbed the carton of eggs first before jumping into the water as well.

After searching all of the aisles until certain items appeared more than once, Lycanroc was finally able to get her chocolate milk jug.

 **000**

It was an all-out swimming competition at this point. Tsareena panted as she placed the twelve-pack of soda into her basket. She rushed back and dove into the water. She passed by Hakamo-o without saying a word and, unluckily, she had caught a glimpse of Dhelmise rising up from the water and placing his parsley into his basket earlier. So now he needed just one more.

At this point, she couldn't do anything, so she just focused on getting her objects. On her way back, she spied Lycanroc, causing her eyes to widen. She growled to herself before gaining an idea that'd make her go faster.

"C'mon…" she said before diving under the water and using Acrobatics once again, causing her to speed forward, kicking her legs forcefully in order to propel her. Eventually, the Fruit Pokemon made it to the shore. She looked at the two carts that held Lycanroc's and Hakamo-o's groceries and growled to herself. She quickly started heading back toward the mart in order to procure her remaining three items.

 **000**

Hakamo-o tossed her head of lettuce into her basket before rushing back and jumping into the water to head back.

Dhelmise emerged from the water and tossed his bag of marshmallows into his basket. Immediately, an air horn was heard and a flag rose from the center of his basket.

"YES!" he cheered to himself. Lycanroc saw the flag rise, as Hakamo-o stopped and turned back. The two had ended up stopping relatively close to each other. Hakamo-o groaned, punching the water. The two friends exchanged looks before nodding and continuing to swim to their different places.

 **000**

Tsareena had to run back and forth through the aisles in order to find her items. She retrieved her bananas from the first aisle, and she started searching different boxes that she found strewn about. She went toward the back to search two boxes that were stacked on top of each other.

"Okay, I have time. It'll take a while for them to get everything to the lighthouse…" Tsareena said to herself as she opened the top box, which was smaller than the bigger one. Inside of that box… was another box. A box of crackers.

"Yes! Thank Arceus!" she cheered to herself as she took out the box of cheesy crackers. "Alright, now I just need the liquor…"

 **000**

Hakamo-o was swimming toward the lighthouse once again, floating with the crate of oranges in front of her. Lycanroc swam ahead of her, her box of muffins being the next thing she was bringing.

Hakamo-o was having a bit of trouble, so Lycanroc decided to help her out a bit, swimming toward her. Upon making it, Hakamo-o questioned her logic.

"Lycanroc, what are you doing!? You need to worry about getting your own things!" Hakamo-o insisted. "I'm just fine!"

"Haka, a good majority of my things are light…" Lycanroc reasoned. "It'll be fine."

"No, it won't! Tsareena already has half of her things in her basket and you only have three…" Hakamo-o replied. "I don't want you-"

"Just kick…" Lycanroc said, tossing her box of muffins onto the crate of oranges.

Hakamo-o groaned and just continued to swim, pushing the crate with Lycanroc by her side.

 **000**

" **Hey, it wasn't that big of a deal," Lycanroc said with a shrug. "Haka had a good amount of her things there already, so me helping her isn't that bad."**

" **Plus, I'm a pretty strong swimmer. But, if Tsareena beats me… well, good on her."**

 **000**

Once they made it to the lighthouse, Hakamo-o brought the crate up and set it atop of the basket, making it count for her. Lycanroc took her box of muffins off before tossing it into her own basket.

"Alright, I just need to get two more of my things…" Hakamo-o said before turning to Lycanroc. "And since you helped me with the crate, I'm gonna help you when I'm down to my last item…"

Dhelmise, seeing this display, 'rolled his eyes'. The two girls swiftly ran back down and jumped into the water again.

 **000**

Tsareena came down to the beach with the liquor, bananas, and cheesy crackers. She put down the liquor and crackers before immediately jumping into the water with the bananas in her hand.

Using her same technique as before, she used Acrobatics, propelling herself toward the lighthouse with relative ease and swiftness. Within seconds, she was at the lighthouse. She rushed up the rocks and placed the bananas into her basket.

Immediately after doing so, she ran back down and began swimming back to the shore. Dhelmise, taking note of her swiftness, rose a brow. Looking out toward the shore, he saw Hakamo-o and Lycanroc start swimming back over to the lighthouse. He then saw Tsareena emerge from the water not even ten seconds later!

"What the…"

After she retrieved her next item and dove into the water again, Dhelmise started counting in his head. He didn't even make it to seven, as Tsareena emerged at the edge of the lighthouse and started climbing up.

"What the hell are _you_ doing?!"

"That's for me to know… and for you to not figure out…" Tsareena retorted before tossing the crackers into her basket.

The Fruit Pokemon rushed back toward the water, with Hakamo-o and Lycanroc having shocked expressions as they continued swimming.

Eventually, the two of them made it up, with Hakamo-o putting her toilet scrubber into her basket, and Lycanroc tossing her paper towels into her ownbasket.

"Alright, now I can help you out…" Hakamo-o said.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, but you can't help her," Dhelmise spoke up. "Lunala said one at a time…"

"She didn't say that we couldn't help each other, so shut your fucking mouth!" Hakamo-o growled before running back down, with Lycanroc in tow. However, Tsareena was coming up as well, holding up her bottle of liquor.

"Well, looks like I'm in the finals, too…" Tsareena said before placing her bottle into the basket.

Much to her surprise, what happened with Dhelmise didn't happen with her. There was no flag, no air horn, nothing…"

"Ha! Nice try!" Hakamo-o said before she and Lycanroc rushed into the water.

"What the-" Tsareena started checking her basket. "Crackers, liquor, bananas, corn, noodles, hairbrush, soda. That's seven things… what was my eighth?!"

Dhelmise chortled. Tsareena clenched her firsts. "FUCK!"

Tsareena had left her list inside of the store, as she had memorized everything, or so she thought. Once she was in the water, she started propelling herself forward again using Acrobatics.

 **000**

"Alright, come on!" Hakamo-o said, holding onto both her pack of steak, and Lycanroc's potato chips. Lycanroc had her chocolate milk jug, and two immediately went back into the water just as Tsareena emerged from the water and rushed toward the mart.

"Hurry!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she and Lycanroc started swimming to the the lighthouse.

 **000**

Tsareena, entering the mart again, groaned as the smell, which was much stronger now, hit her. She started looking around the mart for her list, eventually finding it near a produce section. "Okay, let's see…"

She gasped in realization. "The sausages!"

Dropping her list, she quickly began exiting the mart again.

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Lycanroc swam as if Sharpedo were after them, making it to the lighthouse in no time flat. The Scaly Pokemon ran up and tossed her back of steak into the basket.

The air horn blared and a flag rose up in her basket. She smiled to herself before tossing Lycanroc's potato chips into her basket as she put her chocolate milk jug into it.

A splashing sound was heard as Tsareena emerged from the water holding her final item: her Vienna Sausages, which she had buried prior to keep others from sabotaging her.

Seeing this, Hakamo-o quickly stopped her in her tracks. She didn't want to do this, but it seemed the most necessary. "Tsareena… I need to ask you something…"

"Uh, I need to put this-"

"It's about that!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, a bit irked that the Fruit Pokemon cut her off. "Can you just… wait until Lycanroc has a fair chance?"

"Haka…" Lycanroc started, walking up. "If Tsareena made it here fair and square, you can't just ask her to do that…"

Hakamo-o sighed and turned to her friend. "Lycanroc, please. We all wanted to get rid of _this_ wretched bastard," she said, pointing to Dhelmise. "And since it went wrong, wouldn't it be better if it was a fair-"

"Um… sorry to interrupt, but-" Dhelmise started, getting the twosome's attention.

Suddenly, an air horn blared, making the two of them gape in shock. Tsareena had moved away from them and put her can of sausages into her basket, causing the air horn to ring out and her flag to rise.

"Tsareena, you…"

"I'm sorry," Tsareena started, "but, we all have a need for self-preservation, and in this matter, I required it the most…"

"You… you fucking-!"

Before she could continue, she felt a paw on her shoulder. She turned and saw that Lycanroc had a small smile on her face. "Haka, it'll be fine…"

"But, she-"

"She did what anyone else who wants to win would do," Lycanroc said. "You can't fault her for that…"

"OH, BUT YOU CAN FAULT _ME_ FOR ELIMINATING-"

Dhelmise was cut off by a Dragon Pulse to the face. Hakamo-o growled, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she clenched her fists. Lycanroc, seeing how her friend was acting, walked forward and hugged her. Hakamo-o immediately broke down, hugging her back.

Tsareena looked down, feeling a pang of guilt, while Dhelmise was still regaining his composure from the Dragon Pulse.

"I'm gonna miss you…" Hakamo-o choked out.

Lycanroc rubbed her back. "I'll miss you, too."

Lunala appeared before them, panting a bit. Upon seeing who was in and who wasn't, a glare appeared on her face. "Of FUCKING course…!"

"Yep… Lycanroc's gone now and I am still in. Congratulations to myself…" Dhelmise said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be back at the hotel…"

The Sea Creeper Pokemon seemingly teleported away from the group. Hakamo-o glowered, tears still falling from her face, before turning to Lunala. "Can't you just disqualify that piece of shit?! He was floating things around and you said no influences that'd make it easy for him!"

"He moves by floating around. It wouldn't be fair to borderline cripple him for the challenge, no matter how much of a no-good, foul-mouthed, egotistical, assholish, dysfunctional, aggravating, piece of shit he is…"

Lycanroc pat Hakamo-o's back, only for her to hug her again.

"Well, Lycanroc, when we get back, it'll be time for you to go. It was nice having you here and I honestly wish that you weren't leaving…" Lunala admitted.

"I'm pretty sure everyone wishes that…" Tsareena commented.

Hakamo-o growled at her.

"Well, let's head back-"

"Actually…" Lycanroc started. "I think I'll just stay on this island. I mean, Incineroar and his boyfriend live here, so maybe I can go and see them. That way there's at least one positive for someone!"

"Well, uh… I suppose…" Lunala said. "Hakamo-o, Tsareena, are you two ready to go?"

Tsareena nodded, while Hakamo-o was just looking down.

"Hakamo-o?"

Seeing her unresponsiveness, Lycanroc sighed. "I'll handle it," said Lycanroc as she took Hakamo-o to the edge of the lighthouse.

Lunala nodded, while Tsareena sighed.

 **-000-**

"Haka… you're gonna be okay," Lycanroc admitted. "I believe in you…"

"That doesn't mean anything. You're not gonna be around…" Hakamo-o responded, her voice shaky.

"Hakamo-o… we're gonna see each other in the finale again…" Lycanroc said. "Plus, I gave you my number, and you know where I live. Just like how I know where _you_ live. Outside of this game, I'm sure that we're still gonna be connected, no matter what…"

Hakamo-o looked down. "It's just so fucked up and unfair! Dhelmise talks shit and belittles everyone and he gets to fucking stay while all of the good people get the shaft!"

Lycanroc sighed. "That's just how the game works…" she replied. "The 'assholes' with a lot less or a lot more to lose will always use underhanded tactics. But, in the case of Dhelmise, all he does is say things that piss people off and distracts them, while simultaneously getting the challenges done."

"But," she continued. "That doesn't change anything. You still have a chance. And you have a lot to work with in order to push yourself further. Think about Lucario, think about everything Dhelmise has said to belittle you and everyone else. You're a strong, independent girl and I don't want you acting like it's the end of the world. You've got fight in you and I want you to use it…"

Hakamo-o sniffled, wiping her eyes before they hugged again.

"Well, you have a game to win," Lycanroc said amidst their embrace.

Hakamo-o sighed. "Alright…"

The two of them got onto their feet before heading back up to Lunala.

"I'm ready…" Hakamo-o said, having a semi-confident tone.

"Okay," Lunala said with a nod before gazing at Lycanroc tentatively. "Again, sorry…"

"Ah, it's fine," Lycanroc replied, waving her away. "I had fun for the most part, so there's no need for apologies. Now get going you two…"

Hakamo-o waved her hand goodbye, as Lycanroc suddenly felt tears form in her eyes as well. Lunala teleported away with her, and Lycanroc shakily sighed. She dove into the water and started her swim back to the shore.

 **000**

 **And… there goes Lycanroc. Well… uh… it's pretty screwed. Dhelmise is still in this game somehow, Tsareena thought of herself, and Hakamo-o showed the most emotion she's ever had. Very interesting to say the least. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon… Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Read and review guys, just read and review," Lycanroc said with a giggle.**

 **000**

 **A Lycanroc flipped onto the scene in front of the camera. The room behind her had numerous claw marks and broken items. She stumbled a bit on the landing and giggled. "I guess that'll do. Anyways, hi, I'm Lycanroc! I'm generally a cool girl and I really like to have fun!"**

 **She flopped down onto her bed, which caused cushioning to fly out from a few claw marks. "I've seen a few of the other shows like yours and I think this'll be very fun, too. So… yeah, I think that's all. You probably got a crap ton of tapes like this. Oh well. Thanks for listening…"**

 **000**


	18. Episode 18: All Groan Up

**I'm like hey, wassup, hello…**

 **000**

It was eleven in the morning, the sun beaming over the lavish mansion in which the legendaries resided. The sunlight emitted from the large star radiated through a pair of windows. These windows, which were a part of the, much larger, living room, shined the light onto one of two of our favorite hosts.

The sunlight bounced off of his white fur as he rested on the floor behind the huge couch. He purred as he slept, the soft, but firm, carpeting providing a suitable surface for naps or if someone ended up passing out during or after a party.

However, seeing his sleeping form there, a question arose. Why was he sleeping there exactly?

"Solgaleoooo~."

Oh, right…

Entei had been stalking Solgaleo, wanting the large lion to fulfill their 'agreement'. It had actually slipped the Volcano Pokemon's mind for a few weeks until, out of everyone, _Kyurem_ reminds him.

"Solgaleooo… you know our deal. You might as well come out…" Entei insisted teasingly, his usually brash and aggressive tone being drowned out by a lascivious one.

The hall was unusually quiet, with a majority of the others either remaining in their rooms or their gender specific clubs. This left Solgaleo pretty much out in the open, as after checking the Sunne Pokemon's room and the club he'd be in, Entei knew that there were probably only a select few other places he could be.

"Solgaleoooo~."

The third time his name was called, Solgaleo's eyes slowly flickered open as his drowsiness disappeared. He yawned, smacking his lips silently. As he prepared to rise, he heard his name be called yet again, causing his eyes to widen.

" _He's still after me?!"_ he thought in a panic. " _What the hell is wrong with him?!"_

The sun emissary glanced at a clock hanging on the wall and gaped, seeing that it was past eleven. He growled, but then gained an indifferent expression. His and Lunala's show was coming to the end; they only had three more episodes and three contestants left, one of which they despised with every fiber of their being.

However, as he thought about it, he realized that his censorship of Dhelmise wasn't really helping anything. The Monday host sighed in annoyance; immediately, a thump was heard from the other side of the couch, causing him to jump.

He stood up, only to be face to face with Entei, who was hanging from the rim of the large sofa, gazing dreamily at the Sunne Pokemon. "There you are~..."

"Entei, will you _please_ leave me the hell alone?!" Solgaleo roared in total agitation, slamming a paw down. "Seriously! You are _not_ that fucking needy!"

"Who said that I was~?" the smaller leonine queried teasingly as he dropped down onto the sofa's cushions. Hearing his pawsteps start coming around, Solgaleo started backing away. Sure, he was more more than four feet taller than he was, but Entei still had the type advantage!

"C'mon. You act like you're not aching for some action…" Entei stated, padding toward Solgaleo with his same libidinous expression.

"I'm not," Solgaleo responded sternly, glowering at the fire-type that stalked after him. "Now if you don't mind…"

Suddenly, the larger lion's stomach growled. He _had_ overslept, so he hadn't had a chance to eat anything. He cursed to himself. Now he was going to be late, and with Entei in front of him, seemingly unwilling to let up, he was definitely gonna be a while.

 **000**

" **Did I expect to make it this far?" Dhelmise started, staring at the camera. "Honestly, no. However, I also didn't expect this game to be full of sensitive snowflakes, so, eh. More or less."**

" **I still can't believe that these nimrods allowed this to happen," he laughed.**

 **000**

 **Tsareena let out a sigh. "Well, this is an astounding feat if I do say so myself…"**

" **I got myself eliminated first, was lucky enough to return, and now I have made it to the semi-finals. I don't believe that this has ever been done before," she acknowledged. "Although, I still hold a bit of resentment towards myself, as does Hakamo-o, for what I did."**

" **It is such a weird feeling, to win in a fair, but rather rude, manner," Tsareena continued before letting out another sigh. "But, Dhelmise was practically guaranteed a spot, and I had already made Lycanroc's elimination a priority of mine, so I shouldn't be feeling** _ **that**_ **upset."**

" **At this point, it will be every player for themselves," the Fruit Pokemon stated. "Hakamo-o no long trusts me, which I understand, Dhelmise will not be getting help from either me nor Hakamo-o, and I have ill-will toward Dhelmise, but not Hakamo-o."**

 **000**

" **Great, now I'm all alone," Hakamo-o growled. "I had to talk to Lucario about it again and try and calm myself down. Then, I decided to just call Lycanroc so that I didn't** _ **completely**_ **lose my mind…"**

" **Fuck Dhelmise and fuck Tsareena. I'm alone, so now I have free reign. And I'm going to make** _ **sure**_ **that neither of them win…"**

 **000**

Tsareena entered the cafe for a snack. Entering the area, she walked over to the pantry. It was approaching noon, and they still hadn't been called down. It was rather peculiar, as on Monday, Solgaleo almost always made it before noon and they made it back sometime in the afternoon.

She pulled out a bag of pretzels from a box on the ground and started heading out of the food storage room. As she stepped out, the doors of the cafe opened, and a certain dragon- and fighting-type entered.

Upon making eye contact, Hakamo-o immediately exited, clenching her fists. Seeing this, Tsareena sighed before walking toward the doors. Exiting, she saw Hakamo-o leaning against the wall, her arms folded as she stared at the ground, as if trying to identify the individual strands that made up the red carpet.

Tsareena started walking to the elevators, but stopped once she was next to Hakamo-o. She took a breath and turned to face her fellow finalist. "Hakamo-o…"

The Scaly Pokemon didn't even respond or look at her, she simply walked back into the cafe. Tsareena, seeing this, looked down and just proceeded toward the elevators.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o took a seat at a table, holding her head with a huff. Suddenly, she growled and whacked the napkin holder, and salt and pepper shakers off of the table. After seeing this, she soughed and rose up from her seat in order to clean up the mess she had caused.

She picked up the napkin holder and placed it back on the table; she then proceeded to pick up the salt and pepper shakers. As she did so, Dhelmise entered the cafe scene with a snort. " _Spilling salt_. _How unfortunate. Looks like bad luck will be on your side today…"_

"What the-" Hakamo-o started as she looked around before turning back around and seeing Dhelmise floating toward the food. She growled in agitation. "Fuck you! That shit doesn't even exist!"

" _Whatever ya say, bitch. We all know that I'm the one who's gonna end up winning, and I'm going to burn all of the money right in front of all of you losers…"_

Hakamo-o scoffed, her mouth agape from shock. "What the fuck is wrong with you!? Some of us can actually use the money to benefit ourselves and others, and you're just gonna destroy it all?!"

" _Yep. I mean, what better way to actually make this shit show stand out?"_ Dhelmise thought to her. " _Asshole that pisses off everyone wins competition and burns the reward in front of losers! That'll be great!"_

Hakamo-o just shook her head. "You know, I always knew that you were a piece of shit, but that's just downright cruel. You need to get your ethics in check, because you're gonna be nothing in life, or afterlife, whatever the fuck you're in…" she said as she started leaving the cafe.

Dhelmise chortled. " _She's worried about my ethics when she needs to worry about who's gonna take charge in her 'relationship'..._ "

"FINAL THREE! REPORT TO THE LOBBY! IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!" Solgaleo's voice boomed, sounding rather… crestfallen.

"About time…" Dhelmise commented before phasing through the ground.

 **000**

Solgaleo was waiting in the lobby with an agitated expression plastered on his face. Entei had pestered him for the entire he was there; he had tried to just get his strudel and move to his room, but the persistent Volcano Pokemon cut him off at every given point, demanding intercourse.

Due to this, the larger lion, hating confrontation of this kind, had to just sit in the kitchen to finish his breakfast. Then, he teleported out of the kitchen and to the lobby. Granted, he could have just did this and gone to his room, but Entei would've just pestered him from outside of his door. He let out a sigh before hearing the _ding_ of the elevator door.

Hakamo-o exited and started walking toward the middle of the lobby. Just as she did so, Dhelmise phased through the ceiling and floated over.

Solgaleo let out a sigh. He had just escaped one annoyance, just to be in the presence of another. After a few seconds, the elevator doors opened again and Tsareena stepped out, walking over to them.

Once they were all in front of him, Solgaleo put on a fake smile. "Hello final three… and welcome to your final week of the competition."

Hearing this caused a bit of confusion. There were still three more challenges, so how was this their _final_ week?

"Uh, how is it the final week, exactly?" Hakamo-o queried. "Aren't there still three challenges left?"

"Yes, and they will all be done this week," Solgaleo explained. "One will be today, Lunala will be here _Wednesday_ to host the penultimate challenge, and both of us will be here for the finale…"

"Huh, I suppose that makes sense," Tsareena commented.

"It does," Solgaleo stated matter-of-factly. "Now, let's get to today's challenge."

A blue light enveloped the four of them before they vanished from the lobby.

 **000**

The four of them reappeared on Poni Island. They stood in front of an enormous tree that looked like it extended over 200 ft into the air. There was an entrance in the trunk of the gargantuan perennial plant lined by pillars and a couple of torches that sat on a stone platform.

Hakamo-o's eyes lit up when she saw this area. "The Battle Tree!" she oozed confidence.

Solgaleo gave her a look. "Yes. The Battle Tree! Site of numerous battles where Pokemon come to strengthen themselves and prove their worth!"

"Your challenge today will be do just that…" he continued as the final three exchanged looks. "One at a time, you guys will enter the battle tree and try to defeat as many Pokemon as you can in the fastest time. Each level with have a Pokemon of a different type, and each type will have its own level, making eighteen levels in total…"

"We know how to math," Dhelmise drawled.

Solgaleo, ignoring him, continued expounding on the challenge. "The player that is able to defeat the most Pokemon with the fastest time will automatically gain access into the finale, meaning that the two losers will have to duke it out in the penultimate challenge for the second spot."

Hakamo-o glowered at the other two; Tsareena took a deep breath; Dhelmise just held an indifferent disposition.

"Now, it's been randomly selected who gets to go first, and Dhelmise, that'd be you…"

"Oh yay…" he droned on.

Solgaleo chuckled to himself. "Yes, you being free of my presence and getting your ass kicked will make my day a whole lot better…"

Dhelmise 'rolled his eyes' before beginning to enter the facility. As he went inside, rolled a television to the host and the two other finalists.

 **000**

Dhelmise floated up the spiral ramp, which would lead to the first battle. On his way up, he noticed a sign that read 'Normal-type' and chortled.

He floated onto the first platform and saw that he'd have to keep whirling around if he wanted to make it up further. He groaned to himself before realizing what his opponent was. There, waiting for him on the first level… was a Bibarel.

Dhelmise 'blinked'. Did they really expect him to take this seriously? It was a freaking _Bibarel_. As the normal- and water-type got into a combat stance, Dhelmise chuckled to himself. "Come on, is this a fucking joke? This is just a stupid Bibarel! I expected at least _some_ inkling of a challenge."

The Bibarel, seeming to understand and take offense to what the Sea Creeper Pokemon was saying, glowered at him. While he went on his little diatribe, the Bibarel opened his mouth, firing a light blue beam toward Dhelmise.

Dhelmise turned back to the Bibarel just in time to be hit with the Ice Beam. Luckily for him, he didn't get frozen by it.

"Lucky shot with the Ice Beam, but you're still the most worthless Pokemon in existence. Seriously, nobody likes your species _or_ your ugly babies. There's a reason why _doof_ is in their name," Dhelmise insulted, a few ice crystals stuck to himself and his anchor starting to melt away. "They're stupid!"

The Bibarel's eyes tightened as it opened its maw again, causing a white orb to white orb began firing snowballs toward the seaweed-anchor combo. As the Blizzard came toward him, Dhelmise floated up out of the way, with the Bibarel following him every time he did so.

After a while, Dhelmise grew bored of the Bibarel's persistence. His anchor glowed green as he extended it out, whacking the Bibarel in its side, sending it flying off of the tree.

 **000**

"BIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

The Bibarel landed next to the television screen with a harsh _THUD_. Hakamo-o and Tsareena could only glower as they watched Dhelmise proceed to the next level.

"Part water-type against a part grass-type… who would have known that Dhelmise would _win_?" Tsareena stated sarcastically.

Solgaleo gave her an irritated glance from the corner of his eye. He had a feeling deep down that Dhelmise would make it past the first one at least. He didn't set up the Pokemon that they'd be battling, he let the interns handle it. And it just so happens that the first one was weak to him. _Great_ …

" _Hopefully the fire-type will put him in his place…"_ the host thought intently as he watched the screen.

 **000**

As Dhelmise made it to the next level, a monkey with a flame on its head was seen in a combat pose hopping in place in anticipation. Dhelmise expected a fire-type because of the sign he saw on his way up, but didn't expect one like this.

And by that, he expected one that didn't look so stupid. Seeing the Infernape hop in place like a Lopunny that had to take a piss only made Dhelmise chuckle to himself.

"Y-You're kidding me right now. You have to be…" he said.

Immediately, the Infernape let out a battle screech before whipping its flames around and enveloping itself in fire. It then rolled toward Dhelmise, using Flame Wheel.

Dhelmise attempted to move out of the way quickly, but the Infernape was still able to strike him. He had to admit, the blow _did_ hurt, and was very effective.

"Ugh…" he groaned. "You're lucky, you dumb ape."

The Infernape immediately leapt up before white streaks followed it. It was preparing to hit Dhelmise again, but he quickly moved out of the way and fired three Shadow Balls at the Infernape, causing it to growl out in pain upon impact. Following that, Dhelmise used Surf. The Infernape attempted to get up, but the wave crashed down it.

The Infernape yelled out as the torrent hit. As water began running off the sides, it was revealed that the Infernape was sprawled out, unconscious.

In doing this, Dhelmise started floating to the next level, whistling another pirate tune without looking back.

 **000**

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!" Hakamo-o growled, seeing the scene. "That Flame Wheel should have done so much more!"

"It seems that Dhelmise is much more resilient than we thought…" Tsareena stated. "Though, he _has_ shown his weakness when I kicked his ass in the last challenge…"

"That doesn't make any fucking sense…" Hakamo-o grumbled, folding her arms.

Solgaleo was now agitated. It would seem that the bastard actually stood a chance now with his moveset and how he acts. Grass-types were notoriously weak, so this should have been weighing much more heavily on him.

 **000**

Dhelmise floated up and around, seeing that the next level would have a Fighting-type. This meant that he'd likely take absolutely no damage, if there were no effective moves on it, that is.

He made it to the full level and found himself in the presence of a purple weasel with long fur on its arms, a Mienshao.

"Oh joy, a cum bucket. _This_ is going to be interesting…" he said to himself.

Immediately, the Mienshao charged forward, its right paw completely purple before leaping high in the air. Seeing how fast it was, Dhelmise knew that the Martial Arts Pokemon's agility was going to be a problem.

He moved out of the way of the Poison Jab, only for Mienshao to follow it up with another, and then another, and another.

Dhelmise attempted to use Shadow Ball, but it was deflected by an Aura Sphere. The Mienshao did a grand leap into the sky before coming down, feet first toward him.

Dhelmise fired a Shadow Ball at it in midair. The attack struck and the ermine landed with a glower, a pained expression on its face. It got back onto its feet and charged forward, preparing to attempt Poison Jab again.

Groaning, Dhelmise floated up, only to be struck once the Mienshao lunged upward at him. In retaliation, Dhelmise struck him with Anchor Shot, sending him close to the edge of the tree level. Immediately, Dhelmise used Shadow Ball while the Mienshao regained its composure, sending it over the edge.

 **000**

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me…" Hakamo-o groaned, shaking her head.

The Bibarel had started getting up, only for the Mienshao to land directly on top of it, knocking it right back out.

"Okay, if Dhelmise manages to just knock everything off of the side, I'm gonna be peeved…" Tsareena stated. "This is unfair!"

"Technically, you guys are allowed to use your environment to your advantage, which excludes… tossing them over edges…" Solgaleo explained disgruntledly. "But, his time is…"

Solgaleo looked over at a clock and saw that Dhelmise was on six minutes, forty-one seconds and counting. "Ugh… relatively decent. Once he gets knocked the fuck out, all you girls have to do is get more battle wins than him within that time frame."

Tsareena and Hakamo-o exchanged looks, with Hakamo-o facing away and folding her arms in resentment. Tsareena rolled her eyes, no longer caring as much about Hakamo-o liking her. It was crunch time and _she_ wanted to be the one to have an automatic pass into the finale.

 **000**

" **I need to win this," Tsareena said. "I felt sorry for what I did, but it's passed at this point and now I need to get my head back into the game. And if that means taking out Hakamo-o, or hopefully Dhelmise, then so be it…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise made it onto the level of the water-type battle. Unlike the other levels, which were just using the tree trunk battlefield, this level had numerous ice floes floating in a pool. On the opposite side of the battlefield, a blue and white walrus with long pale-colored tusks.

"A Walrein… how tactical… _not_!" he chided. "It's still a water-type, which means-"

The Walrein blasted a ball of ice at Dhelmise, hitting him in the hub. "OW!"

Dhelmise groaned. "Great, another one of _these…_ "

Dhelmise fired his anchor toward the Walrein, but it swiftly dove into the water. Dhelmise, being able to live underwater, went in after it, where he found himself being tricked, as the Walrein had immediately gone back out of the water and started firing a light blue beam at the water.

Seeing the surface and rest of the water beginning to freeze, Dhelmise could infer that the Walrein was using Ice Beam. He immediately rose from the water, but he kept himself invisible.

" _Stupid, stupid, stupid…_ " he thought to himself.

He got relatively close to the Walrein, which was still focused on freezing the water solid. He revealed himself and swung his anchor, which was glowing green, once again. He struck the Walrein, sending it back a few feet.

However, due to its blubber, it was able to take the attack and glowered at Dhelmise, who went invisible quickly. The Walrein started looking around warily, wondering where the Sea Creeper would come up.

Dhelmise slowly revealed himself, behind the Walrein. He used Anchor Shot, which wrapped around the unsuspected Walrein and smacked him in the head. Dhelmise then floated up and tossed the Walrein down on the frozen water with great force, causing the ice to break.

When the Walrein resurfaced, it was unconscious.

Dhelmise was feeling winded. He had taken a lot of damage, and still had so many levels to go. He knew that if he spent his time monologuing and insulting, then he'd keep getting hit immediately and eventually get knocked out. It was time to play it smart…

 **000**

"As much as I hate to admit it, that was an actual smart play on his part," Hakamo-o commented, folding her arms as she looked at the screen, seeing Dhelmise move on to the flying-type level.

"Yes, it was, but with the damage he's sustained, he shouldn't be able to make it much further. Especially in a flying-type environment," Tsareena stated.

 **000**

Dhelmise was currently face to face with… a Noibat. Yes, a Noibat.

Upon seeing the bat there, Dhelmise had to suppress his urge to just laugh again. So, instead of laughing, he simply used Anchor Shot, which was able to knock out the Sound Wave Pokemon before it could even use a move on him.

He simply proceeded toward the next level without uttering a word. Proceeding up the path, Dhelmise could only scoff at how easy this was. He had literally just taken out his opponent with a single attack. Were they even trying with the challenges anymore?

He made it to the next level with relative ease and, like the water-type level, this level, the grass-type level, had its own little environment as well.

The level was covered in actual grass, and flowers. It resembled a meadow of sorts, but on a much smaller scale. On the other side of the battlefield, sat a Servine.

Dhelmise immediately used Anchor Shot in order to grab hold of the Servine. He then gazed around as the Grass Snake Pokemon squirmed in his grip. before eyeing a small pond near the right side of the battlefield.

 **000**

The clock had fifteen minutes and thirty three seconds on it just as Dhelmise began dealing with the Servine.

"Okay, this is just irritating to the point that I want to kill someone right now…" Hakamo-o remarked, tapping her foot impatiently. "I don't care about Dhelmise, I just want to beat the shit out of these other Pokemon and win my reward…"

"My apologies, but I believe that I'll be the one who wins and gets to go to the finale…" Tsareena replied.

Hakamo-o huffed. "Not on your life…" she said venomously, glowering at the Fruit Pokemon.

"Uh…" Solgaleo started, still watching the screen.

The Servine had its head in the small pond and it wasn't moving, while Dhelmise continued forging forward.

"D-Did he just… _drown_ that Servine?" Tsareena queried, completely in shock.

"Apparently so…" Hakamo-o responded, seeing the scene. "Wouldn't put it behind him. He's a jackass…"

"But, isn't that murder?!" Tsareena exclaimed. "He should be disqualified for that!"

"The Servine is fine," Solgaleo replied. "It's only fainted. If it _was_ actually dead, then yes… he'd be automatically eliminated, and the last episode would just end up being an epilogue or something else that's stupid…"

 **000**

Dhelmise proceeded to the next level, where he was immediately hit with a Shadow Ball, almost knocking him out. "What the-"

The sign on the way up said poison-type, so why was-

Across the battlefield, was a Gengar. And because it was part ghost-type and poison-type, it was going to be a bit of a double whammy for him. Dhelmise groaned in annoyance. The Gengar made itself vanish in a sneak attack attempt, but Dhelmise made himself vanish as well.

Because of this, the Gengar had to uncloak itself. Once it did that, Dhelmise reappeared beside it, hitting it with a close range Shadow Ball. The Gengar was launched back before regaining its composure. It vanished once again, but Dhelmise did the same thing once again, rendering that tactic useless.

The Gengar decided to just do something different. Multiple duplicates of the Gengar began appearing around the area. Dhelmise surveyed the area with a bored expression. All of the Gengar around him formed their arms together, creating large pinkish-purple orbs. They all fired at him simultaneously, but Dhelmise made himself vanish immediately, making the orbs all hit the single spot, but not touch him at all.

The Sea Creeper reappeared in the same spot with a fake yawn. He then rose up, summoning a large wave of water from a blue orb formed in front of himself. The Gengar duplicates' eyes widened as they were all hit. They all vanished with one touch, and the true one ended up getting struck as well.

The Gengar got back up, but Dhelmise immediately used Shadow Ball, knocking it out immediately.

"About fucking time…" he stated before continuing up the Battle Tree.

 **-000-**

Proceeding, Dhelmise saw the sign hanging on his way up, letting him know that his next opponent would be an electric-type.

He went up and immediately was confused at what he saw.

 **000**

"Uh… why are there trash cans there?" Tsareena asked, intrigued. It honestly didn't make any sense to her as to why there were trash cans in an electric-type gym.

"You'd have to ask the interns," Solgaleo replied. "They're the ones who organized things. All I did was tell them to make some levels more interesting than others."

"And trash cans were a way for them to do that?" Hakamo-o rhetorically inquired.

"I don't question them; I just give them creative liberties…" Solgaleo said nonchalantly. "I just want Dhelmise to get knocked the hell out already! I know for a fact that he's completely tired by now."

"I'm pretty sure that we all want that…" Hakamo-o replied.

 **000**

Because Dhelmise didn't see any particular opponent, he grew disgruntled and confused. He started just floating through the lines of trash cans. "Uh, so what the hell am I supposed to-"

He suddenly heard a trash can topple over before feeling a few volts of electricity surge through him. "What the-?"

Turning around abruptly, he saw a blue and white blur go into one of the trash cans. He groaned in agitation. He fired a Shadow Ball toward the trash can, causing it to topple over. There was nothing inside of it.

Another trash can moved slightly, getting Dhelmise's attention once again. He knew how this situation was going to go, so he just decided to try this once more before just demolishing this level altogether. He floated toward the trash can that had just moved and used Shadow Ball on it, knocking it away.

Nothing.

Now annoyed, Dhelmise flung his anchor at all of the trash cans. All of them were empty, except for a few that a few balled up pieces of toilet paper inside.

"What the actual fuck?!" he bellowed in annoyance before a voltage sound was heard. He was quickly electrocuted, doing away with the remaining strength he had, knocking him out cold.

Once he collapsed onto the ground, a small white and blue squirrel was seen with a smile on its face. "Chi-pa!"

 **000**

Hakamo-o erupted in laughter, while Tsareena just shook her head. Solgaleo had an amused look on his face as Dhelmise was teleported back down to ground level.

With a pained grunt, the Sea Creeper Pokemon floated up and shook himself, regaining his composure. When he regained his ground and looked around, he groaned. "Great. Taken out by a fucking rat."

"Squirrel-" Tsareena corrected.

"Big difference…" Dhelmise mumbled, 'rolling his eyes'.

"Well, Dhelmise you managed to defeat seven of the Pokemon up there, much to everyone's annoyance," Solgaleo explained.

Dhelmise grumbled to himself.

"Hakamo-o, you're up next," Solgaleo stated, much to the Scaly Pokemon's excitement.

She cracked her knuckles with a growl. "This… is going to be fun…" she chortled enthusiastically. She had been aching for a good fight in order to vent out her frustrations and stress. She was going to unleash all of her rage here without any repercussions.

After a few minutes of waiting, as the interns had to reset the levels, the Battle Tree was once again ready for a domination attempt.

"Alright Hakamo-o, the interns have finished resetting everything and _your_ opponents are now up there…" Solgaleo stated.

The way he enunciated the _your_ caused her to raise a brow. " _My_ opponents?"

Solgaleo was perplexed as her befuddlement, but he immediately got it after a few seconds. "Oh, you thought you guys always got the same opponents? No no no. Each contestant gets their own sets of opponents."

Tsareena and Hakamo-o's eyes widened, while Dhelmise snorted.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Hakamo-o groaned in vexation. "So, there's a chance that my opponents will either be harder or easier than Dhelmise's?"

"Yep," Solgaleo answered, now understanding her negative emotions. "And again, the interns chose these guys, so I dunno what to expect, myself…"

Hakamo-o sighed. " _Wonderful…_ " she seethed.

"Hey, just use that anger you have to beat Dhelmise and make sure he doesn't win," Solgaleo encouraged.

Hakamo-o gave an understanding nod before rushing toward the Battle Tree.

Dhelmise groaned. "Will you people get over yourselves, already? I've barely said anything to any of you for a few challenges…"

"Like that makes a difference in what you've said and done in the past…" Tsareena responded, folding her arms.

Dhelmise gave her a look, as if telling her to shut up.

 **000**

Hakamo-o ran up the ramp, getting up to the first level, the normal-type. There, instead of the Bibarel, was a Kecleon. Hakamo-o clenched her fists upon seeing this.

But, she knew that she was going to have to be careful, as Kecleon could vanish, but they also had the Color Change ability, so every time it was hit with a move, it would change to that move's type.

Seeing that the Kecleon was standing still, but with a 'come at me' expression, Hakamo-o glared. She had to strategize what she was going to do. Then, it hit her. She had Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw! Ghost-types and dragon-types were weak against themselves, so this could possibly be-

Suddenly, a light blue beam was fired in Hakamo-o's direction while she was in thought. She was able to catch it just in time and jump out of the way, landing in a crouching position. She charged at the Kecleon, but it got ready for her attack and braced itself.

Hakamo-o, with a grand leap, raised a claw, which was engulfed in a blue aura, and swiped the Kecleon, which had its arms in front of itself.

The Kecleon grinned. After Hakamo-o hit it the first time, it began dodging all of her other attempts before finally kicking her in the face while doing a backflip. It thrusted its arms back, unleashing a strange, multicolored shock wave toward Hakamo-o, who had just regained her footing after being knocked to the ground from the blow to the face.

Seeing the wave heading in her direction, she jumped up over it before delivering a kick in the Kecleon's direction. However, the Kecleon extended its tongue, grabbing hold old of Hakamo-o's leg before contact was made. It swung her back hard before trying to use Synchronoise once again.

Hakamo-o growled angrily and dodged the attack. There was no way in the Distortion World that she was going to be beaten by a Kecleon. It may be good, but she had been training far too long to be taken out this easily.

She rushed toward the Kecleon, but the lizard fired another Ice Beam in her direction. Hakamo-o did the same technique she used on Lucario, and began moving in different directions and patterns, in an attempt to confuse the Kecleon, who didn't let up the Ice Beam.

After a few seconds, the Kecleon felt something tap its shoulder. It stopped the Ice Beam and turned around, only to meet the fist of Hakamo-o. _BAM!_

The Kecleon fell to the ground, in a daze, but not entirely fainted. Due to her not really using a move and instead choosing to punch it, it was still a dragon-type. Just as it started regaining its senses, it looked up, only to see Hakamo-o standing above it, eyes glowering down at as if ready to murder it. Both of her claws were emanating a blue aura and were raised.

Its eyes widened in fear, but it was all too late.

 **000**

"It really took her that long to handle a stupid Kecleon?" Dhelmise queried. "All she had to do was use Brick Break once and then use Dragon Claw twice…"

"Each of the Pokemon that the interns chose have battle experience," Solgeleo replied tonelessly, not caring about Dhelmise's input at all. "Therefore, that may not have worked that well…"

"Yeah, plus, you literally just knocked a good amount of your opponents over the edge, so you can't really complain or judge…" Tsareena replied.

"Freedom of speech…" Dhelmise replied.

"Solgaleo, didn't you-"

"As if that really did anything…" Solgaleo responded immediately, already knowing her question. "The bastard's presence alone still agitated you guys, and he was speaking through telepathy, so I can't really do anything about that. Plus, at this point I just don't give a shit anymore and neither should you two…"

Tsareena was surprised to hear that, but once again, the solution was right there in front of them. "Okay… then why don't you just eliminate him?"

"I CAN HEAR YOU! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Dhelmise yelled. "And that would be completely unfair and it'd actually throw him into the jackass host department with the rest of his colleagues. He and Lunala have actually been decent as hosts, so why encourage this bullshit?"

Solgaleo and Tsareena looked at him in surprise. That… that was practically an _actual_ compliment, from _Dhelmise_!

"Did you just… compliment me and Lunala?" Solgaleo queried, not believing what he'd just heard.

Dhelmise remained silent and just kept his face toward the battle viewing screen. Tsareena and Solgaleo exchanged looks, but decided to leave it be.

 **000**

" **Dhelmise said Solgaleo and Lunala have been decent as hosts… hmm… I'm a bit perturbed," Tsareena admitted. "However, I'm also pleased. About time something** _ **somewhat**_ **positive came from him."**

 **000**

Hakamo-o made it to the fire-type level, which for some reason now had a magma moat flowing across it, with stones sitting inside of them so that they were able to get across. There was a Magmortar sitting on the opposing side of the battlefield.

Hakamo-o growled, but then remember that she pretty much had an ace in the hole, and she didn't even really have to move from her spot.

She brought a foot up before bringing it crashing back down. Numerous white shockwaves were sent in the Magmortar's direction. It ended up taking the brunt of the attack, but it remained standing, much to Hakamo-o's surprise.

She tried to use the move again, but found herself being hit with a Fire Blast before she could. With a glare, she rushed toward the Blast Pokemon with a glare on her face, leaping over the magma moat.

With a fierce kick, Hakamo-o hit it right in the chops, assuming that it was a male. Luckily for her, that turned out being true, as it groaned and dropped to its knees while holding its private area.

Hakamo-o used Shadow Claw, knocking it onto its side. Following that, she rose her food right in front of the fire-type's head. He looked at her with pleading eyes, but Hakamo-o slammed her foot down, sending the shock waves right into the Magmortar's face, sending it flying.

Dusting off her hands, Hakamo-o started heading to the next level.

 **-000-**

Going up to the fighting-type section, Hakamo-o was once again surprised to see that the level was nothing like how she saw it when Dhelmise was battling. Instead of just the tree trunk, there was a complete boxing ring! There were red ropes around the square-shaped ring. There was a pokeball symbol on the floor of it and there were stairs leading up to them.

She started climbing the steps and entered the ring, going through the ropes. Immediately, lights around the ring illuminated in radiant colors. The Scaly Pokemon looked around in confusion before the pokeball symbol released some steam.

"Wait, what the-"

Slowly, the symbol began rising, revealing that it was in fact, _not_ just a symbol. It was an _elevator_. Pretty soon, her opponent made itself known: a Machamp.

The Superpower Pokemon had its arms folded with a confident stare as it slowly rose from the ground. Hakamo-o, unimpressed, held a hand on her hip as she watched it rise. Once the Machamp's face was accessible, Hakamo-o delivered numerous kicks to its face, making it grunt and groan with every blow.

Eventually, once it was fully up, it grabbed Hakamo-o by the neck, its face a bit bruised and scratched up from her barrage of kicks. It continuously began punching her with its other three arms.

With a growl, Hakamo-o, while still being strangled, mustered up enough strength to use Dragon Claw, making the Machamp growl and drop her.

She held her neck while catching her breath. She growled at the Machamp, taking a few steps back before raising a foot and slamming it down. The Machamp jumped onto one of the corner columns, avoiding the attack, before throwing itself at Hakamo-o.

Retaliating with a Shadow Claw, Hakamo-o knocked the Machamp down onto the ground before leaping onto it and punching it continuously before using Brick break right on its face.

The Machamp punched her again, sending her flying back onto the opposite ropes. She sprung off and back into the ring, landing on her knees. Hakamo-o rubbed her jaw, glaring at the Machamp. She got up and rushed to it as he started getting back on its feet. She ran up, raising a claw enveloped in a dark aura, before swiping down at it, finally knocking back down and rendering it unconscious.

She let out a roar of vexation, clenching her fists. She got out of the ring and continued heading up the Battle Tree.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o still had her hands clenched as she made it to the next level. It was still a large pool, but there were no ice floes there now. A Huntail was seen swimming in the water. Hakamo-o glared down into the pool before diving into the water.

 **000**

"She's making good time," Solgaleo commented with a smirk of satisfaction. "Looks like you won't be winning this challenge, Dhelmise."

"What? Was I supposed to isolate myself from other people for most of my life and train so much that I don't know how to truly function socially?" Dhelmise rhetorically queried. "Of course she's going to do better than me…"

"Maybe if you _did_ isolate yourself, the world would be a better place…" Tsareena commented. Dhelmise turned to her with an annoyed expression.

"As if you're gonna do better than her…" Dhelmise replied.

Tsareena gave him a look. "Of course I'm not! I'm not as athletic as her!"

"I mean, Tsareena, if you just want to forfeit and give Hakamo-o the win, you can because she's uh… really beating the shit out of a Staravia now…"

"Wait, she already beat the Huntail?" Tsareena asked in astonishment; they had just seen her enter the water-type level!

"Yep," Solgaleo replied. "So, you still gonna try?"

"Of course! I'm no quitter," Tsareena replied, folding her arms.

Solgaleo shrugged. "Alright then."

 **000**

Hakamo-o stomped up to the next level, her fists clenched. She saw that it was a lone Budew. She growled to herself. It looked so weak. She almost didn't want to attack it.

Suddenly, the Budew's eyes glowed gold and it opened and closed its bulb, sending three rainbow rings in Hakamo-o's direction. Seeing this, Hakamo-o swiftly moved out of the way, mouth agape.

 **000**

" **It knows Extrasensory?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.**

 **000**

Immediately, as if she was on a Unovian Football field, she ran toward the Budew, as it prepared another attack, and kicked it off of the level, sending it flying away.

She nodded to herself and continued on to the next level. The sign on the wall let her know that the next level was going to have a poison-type opponent for her.

Reaching the level, she saw two metal bridges overlooking a moat in the middle of the trunk's inside. The moat was filled with a green, glowing liquid that seemed to be bubbling slowly. The fumes that emanated from the liquid was rank, causing Hakamo-o to wave it away from her nose.

As she was distracted by this, a black, gold, and purple snake lunged at her from the opposite side of the moat via one of the bridges.

Hakamo-o jumped back, glaring daggers at the Seviper before her as it slithered threateningly toward her. She rose a foot and slammed it down, causing white, shaky rings to approach the Fang Snake Pokemon.

The Seviper sprang upwards, its tail glowing purple. Seeing this, Hakamo-o held out her arms and grabbed the poison-type's tail as it came down. She growled, feeling a bit of the poison enter her system. She began twirling the Seviper around before slamming it onto the ground numerous times. After doing it the final time and dropping it, Hakamo-o used Earthquake, slamming her foot down again.

The Seviper was now unconscious. Hakamo-o panted, before her stomach started gurgling from the poison. She groaned, her eyes lowering in a glare. She had to keep pushing forward.

 **-000-**

Although she was poisoned and slowly losing her strength, Hakamo-o made it to the next level, which was the electric-type one. Instead of trash cans, there were now electric gates that made up a maze of sorts. Her opponent this time?

A light brown mouse Pokemon with round features was flying on its… tail? Hakamo-o had to duck as her opponent, an Alolan Raichu, swooped down, almost hitting her head. As she walked forward, without looking, she walked into the electricity generated from the gates.

She jittered a bit before growling. Following that, the Alolan Raichu floated toward her again, its blue eyes glowing. Hakamo-o suddenly felt a loss of control of her body as a blue aura surrounded her. She was risen up via Psychic, before being tossed up and slammed back into the electricity.

Hakamo-o growled, her teeth bared. She was still poisoned, so the sudden motions made her feel even more sick. She shakily tried getting back on her feet, but her stomach startling gurgling and purple bubbles were beginning to come from her nostrils and whenever she opened her mouth.

The Alolan Raichu used Thunder on her while she was down, but she quickly leaped out of the way like a Politoed, avoiding the attack. Hakamo-o got back onto her feet and, mustering up her strength, climbed atop one of the poles of the gate.

Seeing this, the Alolan Raichu smirked in an attempt to hit her right where it hurts. However, Hakamo-o rose a claw surrounded in a dark aura. The Mouse Pokemon's eyes widened and Hakamo-o, with as much force and strength as she could muster, slashed the electric- and psychic-type.

 **000**

"Poisoned and damaged by super-effective moves and she's _still_ kicking ass…" Solgaleo expressed, astonished by this.

"I can only imagine what she'd be like in bed with her fellow confused 'love' puppet…" Dhelmise stated.

"At least she _has_ someone to love…" Tsareena responded with a glower, folding her arms. "You're just expressing and projecting the fact that you will never love or have anyone love you by talking down others…"

"You're really reaching, you know that?" Dhelmise rhetorically queried. "I think I preferred it when you were acting like a dumbass…"

"Good for you…" Tsareena retorted agitatedly.

 **000**

Hakamo-o held her stomach as she wobbled up the ramp. The sign, on the way up, had 'ground-type' written on it, making her sigh. Hakamo-o really wanted to stop at this point, as she had already passed Dhelmise's time and level. However, Tsareena was still in the game, and she didn't know her true battle strength. She was able to knock out Dhelmise, so maybe she'd make it further.

"Can't… can't stop now…"

She made it to the next level, which had a large sandbox there. She sighed, but was hit by a rolling tire-like object. A Donphan was using Rollout before stopping and landing in the sandbox.

With a sigh, Hakamo-o got onto her feet and rushed toward the Donphan angrily. The Armor Pokemon jumped and slammed into her, knocking her back.

She tried to get back up, but the poison, damage, and exhaustion all combined to finally put her down.

 **000**

"And what do you know, she barely made it past my level…" Dhelmise commented.

"But, she still beat you, meaning that you're not in the finals," Solgaleo retorted. "So, your insults no longer matter…"

"Well, if you responded, they obviously matter to _you_ ," Dhelmise stated teasingly.

Solgaleo glowered at him from the corner of his eye. He then rolled his eyes before teleporting Hakamo-o down to the ground level with the rest of them.

She was still breathing out purple bubbles, so a couple of interns with first aid kits hurried to her.

"Alright, while Hakamo-o is being healed up, Tsareena, are you ready and able?" Solgaleo questioned.

Tsareena looked over to Hakamo-o, who was being treated with an Antidote, and gained a bit of sympathy. She was rethinking her choice to participate; she didn't want to think this way; she was going to be looking out for herself. However, seeing the Scaly Pokemon in this condition made her sigh.

She had caused Lycanroc's elimination, refusing to give her a fair chance, so she felt like she _owed_ it to her. She didn't really owe anything, considering this was a competition, but it still didn't feel right to her.

If she went along and beat Hakamo-o, she'd be secure in the finals and would deal with one of them later. And truth be told, she wanted the satisfaction of ending Dhelmise's existence in this game. Maybe...

With a sigh, Tsareena folded her arms. "I think I'll forfeit. Give Hakamo-o the win."

"You sure?" Solgaleo questioned seriously. "Because doing this means you're actually gonna have to deal with Dhelmise for a majority of the semi-finals…"

"Yes, I'm sure," Tsareena said confidently, her eyes tightening in a glare toward Dhelmise, who snorted.

"Well alright then, when Hakamo-o's up and about, I'll tell her the news," Solgaleo said, turning his attention to the dragon- and fighting-type that was beginning to sit up on her own, holding her head.

After about ten minutes, Hakamo-o finally got up, her muddled thoughts and sickness being lifted away. She walked over to the others, who were staring at her. She rose a brow as she heading toward them.

"Why are you staring at me?" she questioned, folding her arms.

"Well, smart-dumb bitch here decided to forfeit and hand you the entrance to the finals…" Dhelmise remarked, making Tsareena glare at him in vexation.

Hakamo-o didn't believe it. Tsareena _handed_ her the win? Why would she do that if she was _so_ insistent on getting out Lycanroc? She glowered at Tsareena.

"So, what?" the Scaly Pokemon questioned Tsareena, feeling patronized. "You think that giving me this win will change anything? Because it most definitely won't."

"But-"

"You were completely fine with continuing with the challenge and getting rid of Lycanroc last time. Now, all of a sudden you feel some sort of guilt or sympathy and decide to just give me a win?" Hakamo-o growled. "That's fucking bullshit and you know it! Where was this last challenge, huh? Huh?!"

Tsareena clenched her fists. She wanted to just take everything back and proceed with the challenge, hearing Hakamo-o act like a child. But, she knew why she felt this way. So, instead of just blowing back up at her, she spoke calmly.

"Hakamo-o, tell me this, what did Lycanroc tell you before Solgaleo returned you back to the hotel?"

"None of your fucking business…" Hakamo-o seethed.

"Actually, it is…" Tsareena replied. "You are upset at me for doing something that almost anyone with a competitive mind would have done. So, I think this delves a bit deeper…"

"Well this isn't Dr. Qwil, so how about both of you shut the hell up?" Dhelmise queried, breaking the conversation. "It doesn't fucking matter. Hakamo-o, you're in the finals and you're still an over competitive bitch who's just mad because her bestie isn't here. Yay. Tsareena, you completed a challenge while two bitches conversed about whether it was right to ask you to wait. Big whoop. You're here and you were dumb enough to give her a win. Yay. Now I get to destroy you…"

"Dhelmise, go fuck yourself…" Tsareena commented. "You won't be here after next challenge anyway…."

"We'll see about that…" Dhelmise responded.

Hakamo-o just folded her arms, shaking her head.

"Alright, we've got our first finalist…" Solgaleo said with a nod. "And it didn't even take that long…"

"Well, there's just three of us and someone forfeited. Of course it wouldn't take that long," Dhelmise stated.

Solgaleo ignored him. "Well, let me get you guys back to the hotel."

A blue aura surrounded them before they were teleported back.

 **000**

Upon returning, Hakamo-o immediately started walking to the elevators to head to her room, with Dhelmise and Tsareena watching her.

Tsareena groaned. "She is so stubborn…"

"She'll get over it. And if she doesn't, it'll just make it easier for me to win…" Dhelmise commented.

Tsareena rolled her eyes and just started heading to the elevators. Dhelmise, seeing this, snickered and floated up through the ceiling.

Once they were all gone, Solgaleo let out a sigh of relief before turning to the camera. "Well, there we have it. Hakamo-o is our first finalist for Total Pokemon: Alola. Who will accompany her in the finals? Find out next time during the penultimate challenge here on Total… Pokemon… Alola!"

 **000**

 **And there we have it. Thanks to Tsareena, Hakamo-o is now in the finals. Tsareena vs. Dhelmise. Place your bets! Kinda sucks that Tsareena didn't show anything, but I suppose we'll see a bunch of action next time. You guys know the drill by now. What're your thoughts and opinions on this season as a whole at the moment? Favorite characters? Least favorites? Favorite moments? Worst moments? And… as a standalone, how is this compared to my others? Is it better/worse/etc?**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon… Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**


	19. Episode 19: Enter the Aether

**Place your bets**

 **000**

"HELLO!" a familiar large, white lion greeted, his blue eyes glowing in front of the cameras. "AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF TOTAL… POKEMON… ALOLA!"

A white and purple bat with golden crescent edges on her wings flew up next to him, her pink eyes shining with excitement. "This season, we brought in fourteen competitors from all over Alola to compete for 100,000 Poke!"

"That's right, there have been tears, cheers, fears, and… very _very_ annoying jeers…" Solgaleo stated, saying the final part through grit teeth.

"Yeah…" Lunala nodded in agreement. "It's been rough as all hell, _but_ that ends soon!"

"We started with fourteen and now we're down to three!" Solgaleo announced. "Hakamo-o practically dominated in the previous challenge, and due to a forfeit by Tsareena, earned herself a spot in the finals."

"That's right. Now we're down to Tsareena and Dhelmise," Lunala continued. "A worthy competitor who showed that she was more than what she made herself out to be, and a smug jackass who gets off on agitating others to the core. What a duo!"

"And we'll be seeing which of those two will be joining Hakamo-o in the finals later on today. But, for now, let's hear a few words from the three…" Solgaleo trailed off.

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o had one leg folded over another. She sighed. "Am I glad that I'm in the finals? Sure. Do I think I truly earned it? Yes… and no, thanks to Tsareena."**

 **She got up on her feet. "I've had to play the fucking role of the serious bitch for my team and possibly made a ton of people think I have issues. Well, I'm fucking sorry! My upbringing was tough and I didn't know how to act around others that weren't from my surroundings. My bad!"**

 **She took a breath. "Well, I guess my experience here wasn't that bad…" she continued. "I've a few good friends, got a girlfriend, surprisingly, and… now I'm here. It just… it feels so weird to think about," she said, putting her hands to her head.**

 **She looked to her right and sighed. "I just hope I'm able to pull through in the finals, because at this point, looking back… I don't know what to expect."**

 **000**

" **Final three, bitches!" Dhelmise laughed. "All I have to do is get rid of the smart-dumb bitch and I'll be ready to kick the overconfidence out of Hakamo-o. Then, I get to burn the money and go on with my life! It'll be perfect!"**

" **Do I regret anything?" he asked himself. "Meh, not really. These losers just need to learn to get thicker skin and retort harder. If you take what I say seriously, that's your own fault."**

 **000**

 **Tsareena sat in silence in the confessional for a few seconds before beginning to speak. "Well, I have to say that this experience has been one comparable to a recycling bin. A few good samaritans who belong inside, the trash that ends up in it anyway, the truck that takes away everything, and the driver of said truck…"**

" **But, I suppose that goes for any reality show these days anyway," Tsareena said with a shrug. "I have to say though, I'm surprised that I was able to make it this far after being brought back. I would have expected them to be insensitive once again, but, I suppose revealing myself a bit helped me last as well."**

" **Well, at this point, my main goal is to take out Dhelmise, and then Hakamo-o," Tsareena replied. "Then, all of this would be worth it."**

 **000**

Lunala sighed after hearing what Dhelmise said. "I swear, he wants people to kill him… and he's a fucking ghost-type. Hell, _I_ want to kill him, but I can't…"

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone in this competition wants to kill Dhelmise. Except for Pyukumuku and… maybe Bewear," Solgaleo responded. "And… speaking of them, we're bringing them back for a while to get their thoughts of the final three!"

"That's right, we've rented a small mansion for four days where the competitors who lost their chance at the moo-lah get to come back and chill," Lunala explained. "It's on Poni Island, so let's go and take a visit…"

The two hosts glowed blue and pink, respectively, and vanished from the unnamed area they were in.

 **000**

The lion and bat appeared in front of a familiar house, where music could be heard playing loudly as lights coming from the windows changed colors periodically.

"Okay, so maybe it's not a mansion, and more of Tyranitar's waffle safe-haven, but eh, it's still a decent place," Solgaleo stated with a shrug as Lunala shook her head with an exasperated sigh.

Solgaleo went up and knocked on the door before opening it; the loud music immediately filled the outside as he and Lunala entered the building, with the bat closing the door behind her.

 **-000-**

Immediately, upon seeing them, the music was turned down, and the contestants that were inside all gazed at them in either annoyance or interest.

"About time you two made it," Gumshoos said, closing her book before folding her arms.

"Ugh… I was hoping you losers would stay as far away as possible," Togedemaru drawled. The Roly-Poly Pokemon was sitting in the corner of the living room with ice cream coating different parts of her body and about twenty different empty gallons of the delectable dessert surrounding her.

"Uh, earth to glutton, they're the reason that we're here in the first place," Incineroar stated, sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. "So, maybe show a bit of respect."

"Oh, go sit on your boyfriend's dick," Togedemaru said, placing a tub of ice cream over her face.

Lycanroc, who was sitting next to the tiger, giggled upon seeing her do this.

"Well, good to see that you all are still doing relatively well…" Lunala commented, looking around before her eyes settled on Mudsdale, who seemed to be much bigger than usual. She eyed the Draft Horse tentatively, as she held a very distant, dismal expression as she lied on a cushion near the back corner. "Uh… how you doing, Mudsdale?"

Mudsdale didn't respond, choosing to just sit her head down.

"Meh, she's been like that ever since she got here," Bewear spoke apathetically with a shrug, holding a can of Razz-Cheri Soda. "Hasn't said anything and is just looking like a lost Growlithe…"

"Uh, isn't she the mother of your child?" Solgaleo queried, a bit shocked at his demeanor. "Shouldn't you be a bit more… I dunno… concerned?!"

"Well, considering that she won't return any of my calls, tell me about the appointments, and still insists on trying to get plowed by any willing male that passes her by, she can kindly kiss my ass," Bewear replied, glowering at Mudsdale, who only glowered back. "I just want my child to be in a safe environment when he or her comes out. I don't think growing up in a place full of sex and used condoms will be suitable…"

"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Mudsdale cried.

"YOU RUINED IT YOURSELF, BITCH! YOU KNOW THAT I GET FUCKING LOST IN MY OWN HEAD!"

"Doesn't necessarily make it right…" Gumshoos chimed in.

"Okay, can we _not_ talk about their little sexual escapades?" Passimian insisted, who was sitting on an ottoman, wanting to get back on track. "Why'd you two want us all back here?"

"Yeah, it's a bit strange considering that we all freaking _lost_ ," Drampa drawled as he lied in the hallway.

"SILENCE MOLESTER!" Shiinotic blustered from the back room, pointing at the Placid Pokemon with condemnation.

Drampa gave him a look. "I'm not even a… oh forget it…"

"Anyways…" Solgaleo spoke, attempting to get things back on track. "You guys are all here so that we can get your thoughts on the final three and also so you guys can watch the live feed from tonight's challenge."

"Oh… that's why the television has all of it on it, now," Pyukumuku said, sitting on top of the television. The screen currently had all of them on it with a red 'LIVE' in the top left corner.

Lunala chuckled sheepishly. "Anyways, what do you all think?"

"Hakamo-o is the only one that really deserves to be there," Passimian stated instantaneously. "Dhelmise should have been gone a long time ago, and Tsareena got eliminated first. She didn't deserve to come back, no matter how smart she really is…"

"HA! I disagree," Togedemaru said, taking the tub off of her face. "If anything, Dhelmise deserves to win, no matter how annoying he is."

"Oh, I've got to hear this," Oricorio said, sitting on the table in her Pa'u Form.

"Yes, I'm sure we all do," Incineroar said, sitting up. "Go ahead tubby, enlighten us on why an insensitive son of a bitch with a superiority complex deserves to win more than hard workers…"

"Hakamo-o is too much of a try-hard, and Tsareena didn't need to come back at all," Togedemaru replied. "Dhelmise was just being himself the entire time and got on people's nerves…"

"Oh, so because he's _naturally_ a jackass with no sense of empathy, that's makes it completely fine," Gumshoos sarcastically reasoned.

"Okay, and who do _you_ want to win, then, law brat?" the hedgehog responded before putting another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

"Tsareena, of course," Gumshoos replied. "I feel that it's about time that an intelligent female won a competition. And she'd be the first to do so after being brought back."

"That's dumb," Drampa huffed. "She got tossed first, and because she played all of us by pretending to be a dumb bitch, she deserves to win more. Good logic there…"

"Well Drampa, who did you want to win?" Lunala queried.

The normal- and dragon-type sighed. "I don't care," he muttered.

"Then your opinion doesn't matter," Oricorio stated. "Anyways, I want Hakamo-o to win. I don't really care about Tsareena that much and, other than Togedemaru, I don't think anyone wants the bastard to win."

"I second that," Incineroar spoke up.

"I guess I third it, then," Lycanroc added. "Though, I don't mind Tsareena winning either. As for Dhelmise, I no longer have any comment on him."

"Alright," Solgaleo started, turning to Mudsdale.

Feeling his gaze, Mudsdale looked away. "I don't care who wins…"

"Uh… alright then…" Solgaleo replied, understanding her demeanor. "Bewear, Pyuk?"

"I'm okay," Pyukumuku said, sitting on Bewear's head, surprising Lunala a bit, who looked back at the television, where they saw him sitting last.

"Wait, weren't you just on the television?" Lunala queried.

Pyukumuku could only blink in response, making her sigh. "Nevermind. So, what say you guys?"

"It doesn't matter. Someone still wins!" Pyukumuku chirped.

Bewear shrugged. "I don't have preference…"

"Huh, well, alright then," Solgaleo replied. "Well, we're gonna give them a few moments to just chill and everything, so you guys just relax and enjoy the live feed."

"Did this impact anything like in the other shows?" Lycanroc queried.

"Nope, not really. You guys just get more camera time and your thoughts are now out in the open," Lunala replied. "Now, you guys just proceed with your get together and we'll catch you later."

"Can't we just leave?" Passimian questioned.

"Well, I mean, you can, but I don't suggest it," Solgaleo replied. "I don't think any of you live here, and the boats aren't gonna take you back home unless you pay them…"

Passimian groaned as the two hosts exited the house.

 **-000-**

"And there you have it! It seems like Hakamo-o has the most support at the moment," Solgaleo said once he and his counterpart exited. "Will she be able to pull through in the finals is the question…"

"But, the bigger question is… who _will_ be joining her?" Lunala chimed in. "We'll find out when we-"

The Moone Pokemon let out a yawn, interrupting her train of thought. "-do the challenge later on tonight. Since it's _my_ turn to host."

"Yep," Solgaleo said with a smirk. "So, we'll head back to the hall, and you all enjoy the final three's interactions as you would…"

The two of them glowed once again before teleporting away.

 **000**

Hakamo-o was on the seventh floor of the hotel, lifting weights to strengthen her arms and body in preparation for the finale. She didn't know what she was going to be getting into, but she needed this prep.

She was still a bit upset at Tsareena for just handing her the win after what she did to Lycanroc, but deep down, she was thankful. As she continued to lift her weights, she heard the chime of the elevator doors, signifying that Tsareena was coming over. She let out an annoyed sigh.

The Scaly Pokemon was correct, as the Fruit Pokemon made her presence known, coming around the corner. She folded her arms, watching as Hakamo-o continued working out.

Hakamo-o gave her a look of uninterest and distrust before turning away. Tsareena glared at her; she told herself that she was going to drop it, but she couldn't. "Look, Hakamo-o, I still don't quite understand why you insist on holding this stupid grudge against me for doing something that anyone would do, but I really implore you to have an open mind and get rid of it."

"It's not a stupid grudge, I just think you're a fucking hypocrite. That's it," Hakamo-o replied, still not facing her. "Oh and uh… thanks for forfeiting…"

"So… you still hold resentment toward me, but you're also thanking me?" Tsareena pieced together.

"Yep," Hakamo-o replied, moving to the elliptical machine. "Now, if you're not up here to do something important, I'd appreciate if you left me alone…"

Tsareena shook her head before starting to walk away. "You were doing well, personality wise prior to the final four, but now you've just turned into a stubborn bitch with a lack of common decency..."

Hearing that, Hakamo-o stopped moving and glared at the grass-type as she entered the elevator.

 **000**

" **Oh what does she know?" Hakamo-o questioned, folding her arms. "I gave her a thanks, but because I still don't trust her… I'm stubborn and have no common decency? Ha! Bullshit…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise whistled to himself as he went to the cafe to get himself some more fruit. He didn't have any thoughts about what the challenge could be nor did he really care. He just wanted to beat Tsareena and shut her psychological bullshit up.

"These bitches won't know what hit 'em when I'm done," he said to himself with a chortle.

As he prepared the exit the cafe, he looked at the clock and saw that it was 1: 38 PM. He let out a sigh. "Five more hours until I'm in the final two."

As proceeded out of the doors, he saw Tsareena heading forward with an agitated expression. He grinned inwardly. "Aw, what's the matter? You're not supposed to have a resting bitch face until I kick your ass in tonight's challenge…"

"Oh cram it, Dhelmise…" Tsareena retorted with a glare. "Your petty insults will only make karma bite you in the ass…"

"One, I have no visible ass for karma to bite, and two, you're a psychology bitch, you're not supposed to believe in that karma shit anyway," Dhelmise retorted.

Tsareena scoffed. "You're impossible!"

"-to beat. Yes I am…" Dhelmise finished, mockingly.

Tsareena just shook her head with a vexed groan, proceeding into the cafe. Dhelmise snorted. "What a loser…" he commented before floating up through the ceiling.

 **000**

"So, anyone have any bets on who's gonna get in the final two and win?" Solgaleo queried, sitting among his fellow non-busy legendaries at the hall.

"I'll be honest, I couldn't care less," Darkrai commented, his arms folded.

"Yeah, you and Lunala were boring, and so were your challenges, so yeah, it doesn't matter," Tornadus commented with a shrug.

"Tornadus, you haven't even hosted one of the shows and you've been here FAR longer than I have," Solgaleo replied. "I don't think _you_ should be saying anything negative…"

"Well, I just hope Dhelmise wins," Rayquaza spoke up. "He may be a piece of shit, but with the influx of female winners, the girls are getting pretty annoying…"

"I guess I understand that…" Solgaleo said with a shrug. "Anyone else?"

"Shouldn't you be hiding from Entei?" Genesect queried, not caring about the Sunne Pokemon's questions.

Solgaleo groaned. "Is it too much to fucking ask for some sort of feedback?!"

"Uh…" Mew started, floating over. "You realize that a majority of these guys aren't reliable for feedback at all, right? They don't care about other shows unless they're pain-filled or something, well, minus Rayquaza…"

Solgaleo groaned. "Well, what do _you_ think, then?"

"I'll be honest, I haven't been interested in _any_ of the other shows…" Mew explained. "I'm practically a slave in my own series at this point, so I don't really bother."

Solgaleo looked down with a sigh as he rose up and started heading out of the living room as the others watched him go.

"What a wimp…" Latios commented.

 **-000-**

Solgaleo went up to his room and just lied down on his bed. "First, Dhelmise drives us insane, now nobody wants to give us any thoughts or advice for the finals."

He let out a breath and looked around. He eyed the clock and saw that it was nearing two o'clock. "Well, I guess if no one else really cares… might as well just take a nap and turn in early…"

The lion sprawled out on his bed before reaching for his bottle of antidepressants. He took out two of them before heaving them down his gullet. "Fuck my life…" he groaned.

 **000**

 **4 hours later**

 **000**

The Moone Pokemon woke up from her slumber with a screeching sound. She had woken up in Yveltal's room once again, a small smile on her face. She took a breath. "Alright, time to see who's getting in the finals…"

Her body glowed a bright pink and she teleported out of her boyfriend's room.

 **000**

The lunar bat teleported herself into the lobby of the large hotel. There, waiting for her, were the three finalists. They were sitting in silence; once she entered the lobby, they all immediately rose up.

"About time you got here…" Dhelmise commented.

"Oh shut it," Lunala snapped immediately. She took a breath and turned to Hakamo-o. "Now, congratulations to Hakamo-o for earning a spot in the finals…"

Hakamo-o folded her arms with a smile and nodded.

"You have the choice of either coming along to watch, or waiting for the results back here," Lunala continued.

"Oh, I'm coming…" Hakamo-o stated sternly. "I need to see what these two will _truly_ be capable of…"

Dhelmise snorted. "Keep your panties on. You pansies should both know what I'm capable of at this point…"

"Talking shit while being a piece of shit simultaneously?" Tsareena jeered.

"Lame…" Dhelmise replied.

"Okay, Tsareena, and scum of the Pokemon World, are you two ready for you guys' semi-final challenge?" Lunala queried.

"Of course!" Dhelmise responded, as Tsareena simply nodded.

"Alright then… to the Aether Paradise!" Lunala announced as they all glowed pink and were teleported away.

 **000**

The four of them appeared in a large, lab-like facility. The insides were pure white and light gray. Patterned walls filled the area, giving it a sci-fi vibe. The four of them stood between two 'front desks' that sat across from each other. They each had an aqua colored barrier around the top of them and had no one occupying either.

"Welcome… to the Aether Paradise," Lunala introduced. "An artificial island that acts as a safe haven for feral Pokemon who want to stay true to their natural instincts…"

"Those reject bitches get their own literal safe space?" Dhelmise remarked. "What the hell is wrong with the world?"

"You. You're what's wrong with the world," Tsareena responded, making Dhelmise metaphorically roll his eyes.

"Alright, you two, ready for me to explain your challenge?" Lunala asked.

"Will you stop asking and just speak, woman!?" Dhelmise urged.

Lunala growled. "Fine. You guys' goal is to find files on the nine UBs and take them to the Preservation Room, which will be the sight of the second, deciding challenge."

"The files are located on the dock, in the Conservation Area, the Lab Area, in the hallway, Labs A and B, outside, the main building, and a bedroom," Lunala continued. "But, I implore you to be careful, as there will be three Type: Null patrolling this place. If one of them catches you, you will be brought back here, where you will have to stay for two full minutes before you're able to continue."

"Once you get to the Preservation Room, you will find two pressure pads on either side of the room that have been specially modified to only press down when all nine files are placed atop of them," Lunala explained. "Once the pads are down, you will be faced with the deciding challenge: fighting a Silvally!"

Tsareena and Dhelmise both gaped at how much they had to do. This was _actual_ finale level difficulty!

"Whichever one of you is able to collect the files and defeat the Silvally the fastest earns a spot in the finale alongside Hakamo-o," Lunala finished. "Are there any questions before we begin?"

"Yeah, uh… are you sure you didn't get this challenge and the finale challenges mixed up? BECAUSE THIS IS A FUCK TON!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

Lunala sneered. "Looks like someone's confidence just left the building."

"Oh it didn't leave, this is just something I'd expect to do in the _finals_ , not the _semi-finals_!"

"Well, too bad," Hakamo-o chortled. "You two have to prove yourselves somehow…"

Tsareena gave her a look. "Just remember that I'm the reason that you're even in your position…"

Hakamo-o glare at her, folding her arms.

"Anything else?" Lunala asked.

The two semi-finalists remained silent.

"Alright then, your challenge begins in three… two… one… GO!"

Dhelmise instantly knocked Tsareena over to the side before phasing through the ceiling. "So long, bitch!"

Tsareena growled, and got back on her feet. She rushed over and got on the triangular elevator, pressing a button that sent her down.

 **000**

Dhelmise entered the Conservation Area and immediately found himself along a bunch of connected pathways. The area was rather vast, with different Pokemon sitting on the ground level, as the pathways were above the area.

There was water along the ground, alongside a few rocks, creating a decent environment for any water-type pokemon staying there. There were also mini islands in the water that held foliage and trees

Among the Pokemon there, there were Starmie, Corsola, Grimer, a few Pachirisu in the trees, a few Pikipek and Fletchling flying around, Slowpoke, and many more. The Sea Creeper Pokemon moved along the pathways very hesitantly, not knowing whether a Type: Null was in the vicinity.

"Come on, come on…" he said as he looked over either side of the path he was floating across. He made it to a wider platform area that was empty and looked around for any sight of a file. He floated to the edge and looked around in the water, thinking that she'd likely put a file somewhere out there.

Much to his chagrin, he was incorrect, meaning that he'd have to continue around the joint. As he proceeded down the pathways, he looked around, seeing the interactions between the feral Pokemon that inhabited the area.

"What type of mentally handicapped nimrods think that staying feral will be a much better choice than learning to function normally?" Dhelmise muttered to himself as he continued forward.

He looked down along the sides, watching the Slowpoke interact with a Psyduck. "Well… as normal as possible for certain ones…"

The Sea Creeper Pokemon found himself at a large path opening. There, he was a manila folder lying on the ground. Seeing this, Dhelmise was a bit hesitant, as it was situated like a trap.

"Okay, I'm not an idiot, so… let's just do this…" he said. He used Anchor Shot, firing his anchor at the file, causing it to slide through the gates and into the water.

Dhelmise groaned.

 **000**

Tsareena made it to the dock, where she saw an exit door and a few boats floating in the water. There were two 'piers' on either side. There were numerous boxes sitting on the side walls.

Seeing all of this, the Fruit Pokemon proceeded forward, but stopped upon seeing a figure climbing onto the dock. The figure was very chimeric in appearance, have a black body with green, insectoid forelegs, and purple scales decorating its hind legs. It had a fin for a tail. There were gray frills covering its front, with a brown and green contraption attached to its head.

Tsareena gasped and swiftly looked around before rushing toward the boxes. The Type: Null that emerged from the boat scanned its location carefully. With a grunt, it moved forward to scan the area. Tsareena carefully peered around the edge of a box to see where the Synthetic Pokemon was headed.

Seeing it head in the opposite direction, she went around the other side of the box and sat down for a few seconds before peeking around once again. She saw the Type: Null walking toward the opposite wall, where a few more boxes were located. She let out a soft sigh.

"Close one," she whispered to herself. She looked over at the now clear dock and swiftly and silently rushed toward the end of it.

Hearing the tapping of toes, the Type: Null jerked its head around, only to see nothing. With a suspicious huff, it turned around and started heading back toward the docking area.

Tsareena looked around the dock for just a few seconds, as the dock was clear of obstacles. There was no file to be found, causing her to sigh in exasperation. Hearing the pitter-patter of feet heading in her direction, the Fruit Pokemon gasped and looked around for a hiding spot. Soon enough, the chimera turned the corner, only to see… nothing.

It looked around and, still not convinced, decided to inspect the boat. It walked up to the watercraft and immediately hopped aboard to search it.

Below, in the water, Tsareena was floating, waiting for the chimeric Pokemon to leave the area. She hadn't had a chance to search the boat, so when the Type: Null left, it would be the perfect chance.

After a full minute of searching the small boat, the Type: Null hopped off, making the boat rock a bit. Once she felt that it was out of the vicinity, she started climbing up the side of it.

She pulled herself aboard the boat, making sure to stay crouched to stay out of the Type: Null's line of sight. Checking around the watercraft, the Fruit Pokemon grew annoyed and anxious at the possibility of Dhelmise already being ahead of her.

She checked under the seats and in the glove compartment, attempting to find one of the files. "Come on… come on…" she muttered, sifting through the papers already in the glove compartment.

Having no success, she groaned softly. "Damn it, if they're not here, where the hell could they be?"

 **000**

Dhelmise was staring out at the water, seeing the now soaked file being torn apart by the water and the Corsola that approached it. "Well… looks like that one's gone…"

Dhelmise was a bit agitated at the fact that he lost the first file, but he knew that droning on about it wasn't going to help anything. He proceeded along another path in order to try and find another file.

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever had to deal with…" Dhelmise muttered as he continued along the white, pearly paths with barriers. He continued floating along the way before stopping in his tracks. He saw a figure walking along another path; it was a Type: Null.

Dhelmise phased into the ground to avoid detection as the Type: Null happened to turn down the path he was initially floating on. Dhelmise decided to keep himself invisible to make things much easier.

Rising back up after the Synthetic Pokemon walked away, the ghost- and grass-type proceeded to look around for another file. As he looked around, he eyed a Marill that was splashing water around. He noticed that the floor was soaked in water and the banisters were dripping wet.

He sighed as he passed by the area, getting splashed by the Marill. His body, despite being invisible, still dripped water, leaving a trail of water drops.

Unluckily for Dhelmise, the Type: Null had turned back around, feeling the presence of someone in the area, other than the feral Pokemon. It followed its senses, leading it down the same path Dhelmise was taking.

Dhelmise grumbled to himself as he shook himself off, only for his seaweed to stop momentarily before continuing to drip.

"Ugh, as much as I enjoy the water, now is _not_ the time…" Dhelmise commented to himself as he eventually reached a dead end. Surrounded by banisters, the Sea Creeper Pokemon eyed the tree before him. He groaned before momentarily making himself visible. "Who the fuck even thought that this would be a good idea?!"

A sharp growl followed Dhelmise's response. Turning around, he found himself in the presence of the Type: Null.

"Aw… fuck," Dhelmise groaned.

 **000**

Tsareena slowly got off of the boat and began pondering about where the files could be. The boat was barren, so that meant that the files were either around the boxes that she was hiding behind, or around the corner in the area where the Type: Null retreated.

"Arceus damn it!" she whisper-shouted to herself as she eyed the area that she had retreated from moments ago.

She made her way back over to the boxes hesitantly, unsure of where the Type: Null was now. Hugging the wall, Tsareena moved carefully toward the corner. She peeked around, and saw the Type: Null was breaking the boxes open.

There was nothing in any of them , which made the Type: Null a bit more agitated. It just knew that something was around.

Amidst the destruction of the other boxes, Tsareena snuck back over to the bunch of boxes she was initially hiding behind.

 **000**

Back at the house on Poni, the others were watching intently, anxious to see what was going to happen.

"Wow, Dhelmise was right, this _does_ feel like the finale," Pyukumuku commented, still sitting on Bewear's head, as the Strong Arm Pokemon sat on the floor.

"True enough…" Drampa added nonchalantly, still lying in the hallway.

"I just hope that Dhelmise loses. That's all I want at this point…" Incineroar stated, his legs crossed.

Nearly everyone muttered in agreement, excluding Togedemaru, who only rolled her eyes.

 **000**

Lunala and Hakamo-o were watching the feed from the miniature cameras following the two semi-finalists.

"Looks like Dhelmise is getting caught…" Lunala said with a smirk.

"Serves him right," Hakamo-o stated, folding her arms. "As much as I don't trust her, I hope Tsareena kicks his ass."

Lunala, upon hearing that, turned to the dragon- and fighting-type. "Hakamo-o, do you really think that that's the right attitude to have toward her?"

"What do you mean?" Hakamo-o queried, giving the Moone Pokemon a look of befuddlement.

"Well, she helped you get to the finals, and you're saying that you don't trust her; you're pretty much giving her the cold shoulder for helping you out…"

"I didn't need her fucking help," Hakamo-o spat venomously. "She's a grass-type, and not to sound typist, they're notoriously weak…"

Lunala gazed at her tentatively. "And yet Dhelmise was able to give you a run for your money…"

Hakamo-o scoffed. "That doesn't count. The bastard just kept throwing opponents over the edge!"

"That doesn't matter; it was allowed," Lunala replied. "If Tsareena actually had the skill and ability to beat almost every opponent, she'd be the one standing here, and you'd have the possibility of losing…"

Hakamo-o's hard gaze softened a bit, but a scowl remained on her face. "She's confusing as fuck. She eliminates Lycanroc with no remorse, and then decides to back down and just let me win? What kind of bullshit is that!?"

"Actually, she _did_ show a bit of remorse," Lunala replied. "I think you were too blinded by rage to realize it. And her giving up her spot was likely her way of trying to make things right with _you_ , because Lycanroc was hardly affected by being eliminated. _You_ were the one taking it to heart."

Hakamo-o looked down in silence, a thoughtful expression on her face. Those possibilities had hardly crossed her mind; she was just so full of rage and ended up interpreting the Fruit Pokemon's acts of kindness as mindfucks to piss her off.

She sighed. "Great… now I feel like shit."

"Well, Dhelmise _is_ shit, so don't get so down on yourself," Lunala replied, patting the Scaly Pokemon on the back.

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o sighed, holding her face. "Now I feel awful. Great…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise, after phasing through the ground again to avoid the Type: Null, re-emerged on the opposite side of it and whacked it with his anchor, sending it into the tree.

The Sea Creeper Pokemon decided to turn invisible once again and float in the direction of where he came.

"Stupid challenge…" he muttered as he passed by the wet spot of the path. Instead of turning this time, he kept going forward.

After doing so, he took a left and found himself in another dead end. However, unlike the last one, there was a file sitting there.

"Finally…" he drawled as he floated toward and picked up the file. He then phased through the floor, making sure that he didn't lose the file.

 **-000-**

He floated down from the floor in the Conservation Area and sighed in relief. He was out of the makeshift labyrinth; now he had to get the remaining files.

He looked forward, seeing Lunala and Hakamo-o eyeing him in annoyance. He muttered something incoherent before starting to float up. He then realized that he needed a file from the docking area.

With a gruff sigh, he phased through the ground and into the docking area. Once he went down, he noticed Tsareena ducking behind some boxes and a Type: Null heading in her direction. He chuckled to himself.

"Loser…" he said to himself as he turned invisible once again and floated down. Heading toward the destroyed boxes, the seaweed-anchor combo made sure to keep his eye on the Type: Null to make sure it didn't turn around.

Looking through the shattered wood, Dhelmise eyed a manila folder underneath a few pieces of wood. He picked it up with a chortle and started floating back up toward the ceiling.

 **000**

"This is bull!" Incineroar roared. "That bastard shouldn't be allowed to use any ghostly crap!"

"It's called a strategy," Togedemaru retorted. "Plus, Lunala didn't say that it wasn't allowed…"

"Well, at this rate, I'm afraid that Tsareena won't be able to make it," Gumshoos commented with disappointment in her voice.

"Hey, don't count her out just yet! I'm sure she'll push through!" Lycanroc replied.

"Just keep telling yourself that, mutt," Togedemaru replied, earning a glare from Incineroar.

 **000**

Tsareena had just watched as a file floated to the ceiling and seemingly vanished. It had to have been Dhelmise!

"That sneaky prick…" she whispered to herself as a sharp crash interrupted her thoughts. Quickly, she rushed toward the opposite side of the area, where Dhelmise had just gotten his own file. The Type: Null saw her running and immediately rushed after her.

Tsareena, hearing the paws and claws behind her, immediately picked up the pace and slid into the pile of wood. She moved the wood out of her way in order to try and look for the other file.

The Type: Null grew closer, prompting Tsareena to begin throwing the pieces of wood in its direction. Each piece of lumber hit its mark, making the Type: Null slip up a bit upon running over them.

Seeing it do that, Tsareena quickly continued to sift through the wood, eventually finding her own manila folder. "Yes!"

Her attention went back to the Type: Null, which was glaring at her, looking ready to pounce. Tsareena leapt out of the way, holding the folder in her arms, just as the Type: Null tried to attack her.

She rushed toward the elevator and jumped onto it before pressing the button to go up.

 **-000-**

"So… you and Yveltal got together in just an hour?!" Hakamo-o queried, deciding to engage in a conversation with the female host.

It felt a bit weird, as she never really talked 'girl stuff' with anyone other than maybe Lycanroc and Oricorio, to an extent. And, due to the fact that it was _Lunala_ of all Pokemon, it was just strange overall.

Lunala tittered. "Actually just under fifty minutes," she replied. "Love at first sight, what can I say?"

"Uh… you could have gotten to know him a bit better before deciding to commit," Hakamo-o replied. "I mean, I'm not used to relationships in general and don't really know _that_ much, but from what I've heard, relationships are a fundamental process that take time to develop."

"Well… that is true, but legendary relationships are kinda different…" Lunala explained, making Hakamo-o raise a brow.

"How so?"

"Well, ya see-"

Just as he was about to begin, the elevator rose up, and Tsareena panted heavily. Hakamo-o knew that it probably wasn't the best time to apologize or interrupt her flow, so she decided to stay quiet.

"Come on Tsareena, you need to hurry and get the next file from the Conservation Area!" Lunala urged. "There should be a new one around the first few paths since Dhelmise fucked over the first one."

"Wait, are you allowed to do that?" Hakamo-o queried, confused.

"Do you want to go up against _Dhelmise_?!" Lunala responded back with a serious tone.

Hakamo-o's eyes widened and she turned back to Tsareena. "Listen to the hostess!"

Tsareena nodded and started rushing to the next elevator to get to the area.

 **000**

Dhelmise, after catching a glimpse of a directory on the elevators, realized that the Lab Area was below the docks. He groaned in annoyance and, upon floating through the floor and passing through the docks, soon found himself in the Lab Area. Looking around, he couldn't help but notice that there were two files sitting side by side against the wall. It was as if someone was so lazy that they didn't even bother making them a challenge to retrieve.

Dhelmise floated toward the two of them, but found himself running into a barrier. "Ow! What the-"

He attempted to phase through, but found himself in great pain upon attempting it. It was like an intense burning sensation all over his body, like he was entering a volcano. "Why the hell is… oh…" he groaned in annoyance upon realization.

He floated backwards and launched his anchor at the barrier, only for it to be stopped. However, upon doing so, the Sea Creeper Pokemon noticed something. He retracted his anchor before using Anchor Shot again. Two outlines of doors appeared, each with a strange-looking lock.

"I have to look for a fucking _key_ now?!" he exclaimed. "THIS AIN'T THE FUCKING FINALE!"

Suddenly, the sound of paws and the tapping of claws against the ground could be heard and it was approaching fast. Dhelmise swiftly made himself invisible as the Type: Null entered the vicinity, bursting through the only other door in the area.

When the Synthetic Pokemon came charging in and started looking around, Dhelmise noticed that it had on a necklace with two keys dangling around them. His eyes widened.

 **000**

" **You're fucking kidding me, right? This has to be a fucking joke…" Dhelmise remarked deadpan.**

 **000**

As the Type: Null retreated back through the door, Dhelmise made himself visible again and sighed to himself. "Hmm...go back up and go the fuck outside to look for files there… or risk a penalty for a fucking key for one file?"

He groaned to himself. "Damn this challenge…"

Dhelmise decided to go after the Type: Null, and felt a bit of anxiety overcome him. His confidence slowly deteriorating and being replaced with annoyance and fatigue.

He floated to the door that the Type: Null emerged from and phased right through it, coming upon the hallway. He turned invisible and started looking for the Type: Null, which didn't prove to be that difficult, as it was walking back toward the door. Dhelmise floated to the side and, without warning, struck the Type: Null used Anchor Shot, rendering it unable to leave the vicinity.

The Type: Null flinched, but also growled as it looked around, seeing nothing. It got into a battle stance before feeling itself be lifted up and the keys around its neck being tossed aside. The Type: Null was then slammed back down as Dhelmise chortled to himself and cockily made himself visible.

"Poor abomination…" he taunted as the Type: Null growled and slowly attempted to get back on its feet. Dhelmise floated to the tossed keys and picked up one of them before swiftly phasing through the door.

The Type: Null glared.

 **-000-**

Dhelmise entered the Lab Area once again and used Anchor Shot, getting the door outlines to appear once more. Using the key, he swiftly tried the left door, with no success. He groaned as the outlines faded away once more, prompting him to hit it again. This time, he tried the right door, which opened.

He went into the other side, grabbing his third file, before heading back out. Not wanting to let Tsareena get an upper hand, he decided to lock the door right back and keep the key on him for now.

As he prepared to go back to the hallway, he turned and was immediately face-to-face with the Type: Null from before. Before he could react, the Type: Null fired a ring of electricity at him, paralyzing him.

Dhelmise groaned as the Type: Null towered above him and grabbed him with one of its claws before dragging him to the elevators.

 **000**

There were shouts of enjoyment as Dhelmise was dragged to the elevator.

"YES! That bastard gets a penalty!" Oricorio chirped. "Things are looking up!"

"Or down," Pyukumuku chirped, attempting to make an elevator joke. Nobody laughed, which was fine with him.

"Let's just hope that Tsareena is able to pull through," Passimian added, his arms folded as he watched with interest.

 **000**

Tsareena returned back up with the file of UB-01 Symbiont, or Nihilego, and walked back to the entrance to place it alongside her first file, which was of UB-02 Beauty, or Pheromosa. She was going to be retrieving her files and bringing them back here to the front desks in order to keep track, even though both females in the vicinity were already offering her assistance and tips.

"Alright, I need seven more…" she muttered to herself before deciding to go to the Lab Area. As she headed to the elevator, she noticed that it was already gone. A few seconds later, though, it came back, with a Type: Null dragging Dhelmise toward the entrance.

"I hate you all…" he commented as the Type: Null stopped dragging him.

"The feeling's mutual," Hakamo-o retorted with a smirk. "Good to see that you're not gonna win."

"Fuck you…"

The Synthetic Pokemon started heading back to the elevator, only to see that it was gone. It grunted in confusion.

 **-000-**

Tsareena had taken the elevator down to the Lab Area, and immediately saw three files scattered across the floor, presumably Dhelmise's. With a smile, she decided to go ahead and retrieve the file that she didn't have just yet.

Picking it up, she saw that it was one for UB: Burst. She hadn't heard of that Ultra Beast just yet, but it didn't really matter. She needed to get the other files before the Type: Null got back. Sure, it didn't have an elevator, but she was worried that it would still find a way.

She went to the door and went through, entering the hallway. She proceeded down the hallway, passing by a door. Looking through the hexagonal, blue windows, she saw two files sitting on a table. Her eyes widened and she moved back in order to open the door and enter the first lab.

As soon as she entered, the Type: Null burst through the door to the hallway. It walked hastily down the hallway before noticing Tsareena in Secret Lab A, grabbing a folder. It glared before standing to the side of the door, ready for her to exit.

 **-000-**

Tsareena glanced around the lab with interest before regaining focus and looking at the table for the files. "UB-04 Blaster," she read on the tab. "Okay, this is four…"

She started heading out the door, and immediately, she found herself being pounced by the Type: Null. she swore to herself as it fired an electric ring toward her, paralyzing her as well.

 **000**

After a while, Dhelmise's paralysis wore off, much to his confusion and delight. "Finally!" he exclaimed as he immediately phased through the ground, moments before the Type: Null came back up with Tsareena.

 **-000-**

Dhelmise made it back down to the Lab Area and immediately saw that only two of his files were still there. With a growl, he turned to the barrier and saw that the other file was still there. "That fucking bitch stole my file? Seriously?"

He used Anchor Shot on the barrier again and opened the right door once again. He tried to get the other one, but found that yet another barrier was separating the two.

He groaned in annoyance. "Fuck this!"

He gathered his files and started heading to the hallway. Passing through the door, he floated down the way with an agitated expression. He entered the first door in the hallway and grabbed the file that was sitting on the table. He decided to make himself invisible and continue, just in case the Type: Null came back. He floated through the wall of Secret Lab A and entered into Secret Lab B through _its_ wall. Inside, he saw that there were numerous lasers inside.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me…"

 **000**

"Jeez, this is getting crazy," Lycanroc remarked. "Lasers, Type: Null, UB files…"

"Meh, other shows have done worse," Oricorio stated with a shrug. "This is more nerve-wrecking and boring than anything."

"Can't Lunala just give Tsareena the win and save us the torture?" Incineroar urged in annoyance.

"If she does that, Dhelmise has the right to sue. It wouldn't be fair…" Togedemaru replied.

"Oh that's bullshit," Gumshoos stated. "Lunala is a host and we are simply participants that we signed up for. The contracts stated that they are allowed to disqualify anyone that they see fit due to unlawful sexual contact, irritability, or drug use."

Mudsdale's eyes widened as she got to her feet. "Oh really?! So, this bastard forces himself on me, and they _still_ didn't disqualify him?!"

"Uh… considering that you didn't report it to them as such, and, going back over the episode, you said that it was, and I quote, '1000 times better than any guy you've been with…'" Bewear responded with a glare.

"Fuck you!"

"You're already pregnant, slut," Bewear replied, turning away from her.

"Yet you still slept with me…"

"And I regret it…" Bewear replied calmly with a shrug, making Mudsdale gape in shock.

"Okay… back to the show," Passimian said, feeling a bit awkward.

 **000**

Soon enough, Tsareena was able to get back up and placed her next two files next to the other two. "Four down, five to go," she commented before rushing toward the elevator.

"Hurry up!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, making Tsareena roll her eyes.

The Fruit Pokemon stepped onto the triangular elevator pad and pressed the button, sending her downwards.

 **-000-**

She made it back to the Lab Area and noticed that Dhelmise's other files were gone. She rushed through the door to get into the hallway. The Fruit Pokemon ran down the hallway, passing by Secret Lab A, before walking backwards to see if the other file was still there. It wasn't; Dhelmise had been there.

She proceeded down the hall, to the end of it, and noticed two files sitting idly on the floor next to each other. She rose a brow and proceeded to go toward them.

As she did so, she saw the door to Secret Lab B open, and saw a stack of files float out, followed by a few smoke lines. "I hate everything about this challenge…" she heard Dhelmise's voice say.

She growled. "Dhelmise!"

The Sea Creeper Pokemon, upon hearing his name be called, made himself visible and eyed Tsareena with a chortle. "Oh, hello bitch… I saw that you decided to steal my file earlier."

"Hey, it was out in the open, so… fair game," Tsareena retorted.

"I thought that you were supposed to be about fairness and shit…"

"This is the semi-finals, and frankly, you're no better than chewed gum stuck to a sidewalk…"

Dhelmise stared blankly at her. "What the fuck are you on?"

Tsareena groaned. "Just fuck off. I've got important work to do…" she said, pushing past him. As she got close to the files, a couple of guns rose from the darkness, pointing directly at her. Tsareena froze upon seeing this.

"This is shit…" Dhelmise commented as Tsareena backed away. The guns immediately lowered back down. She stomped the ground in irritation.

Dhelmise phased into the ground, which Tsareena instantly took notice to. Seconds later, she saw one of the files vanish through the floor, causing her to gape.

He turned up behind her with the file. "...for you," he finished before cackling and floating to the ceiling.

Tsareena growled before gaining an idea. She stepped toward the other file. The two guns rose up again. Immediately, Tsareena moved her arms together, forming a greenish-yellow ball of energy in her palms. She fired it at the left gun first, destroying it. She sighed in relief; she thought that they were going to be indestructible. She charged up another Energy Ball before tossing it at the other gun, knocking it off of its pole. With that defense mechanism destroyed, Tsareena picked up the file of UB-04 Blade, Kartana.

She started heading back to the Lab Area with her newest file.

 **000**

Dhelmise made it back to the Entrance floor and started heading outside with his files. He just needed three more and he was in the finals.

As he exited the facility part of the artificial island, he felt the sudden warmth and coolness hybrid in the air. In comparison to the chilliness of the inside, he felt like he was actually a bit more free.

Amidst his thoughts as he floated down the path lined by trees, he didn't seem to notice that a Type: Null was stalking behind him. He heard a muffled grunt and as he turned around, he was hit by Thunder Wave, paralyzing him for the second time. "OH COME ON!"

Dhelmise tried making his files invisible, but he had no success as the Type: Null dragged him back into the cold, laboratory environment.

 **-000-**

"This is amazing," Hakamo-o laughed, her arms folded as she watched the Type: Null drag the Sea Creeper Pokemon back into the Entrance area.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Dhelmise exclaimed just as the elevator came up. Tsareena, seeing the scene, paused.

The Type: Null stared her down for a few seconds, prompting Tsareena to step off and back away slowly. The Type: Null let out a low, muffled growl and started stalking toward her, prompting herself to rush outside. The Synthetic Pokemon chased after her, leaving the other three.

"I thought you fucking said that there were only _three_ of those stupid things!"

"Yes, there are, and I also said that they're patrolling the place. Why do you think you and Tsareena didn't have to deal with one in the hallway and Lab Area when you were both there?" Lunala retorted.

"Oh go fuck yourself…"

"Nah, you can do that after you lose…" Lunala said with a sneer.

 **000**

Tsareena kept running toward the large building on the opposite side of the island. On her way, she noticed a bunch of files in the middle of the way.

The Type: Null was right on her tail, launching Thunder Wave repeatedly. Tsareena dodged each one, and fought back, using Energy Ball once the Type: Null was further back. The attack hit, sending the Type: Null to the ground momentarily. Tsareena noticed that Dhelmise had a few more files than her, and decided to swipe yet another one and sabotage him.

After all the bullshit he's said and pulled, he deserved it. She finally picked up a file she didn't recognize, UB-03 Lighting, and kicked around the remaining files, sending the papers flying around and tearing a few accidentally.

Once she did that, the Type: Null was able to get up and use Thunder Wave, getting a perfect shot. Tsareena fell to the ground, holding both Kartana and Xurkitree's files.

As she was dragged away by the Type: Null, she smirked to herself. With these, she only needed three more files. She was taken back to the Entrance area.

Once she was back, the Type: Null started heading back outside. Lunala and Hakamo-o gazed at the two.

"So, how do you guys feel so far?" Lunala queried.

"I hate you…" Dhelmise replied.

"Again, the feeling's mutual," Lunala replied, deadpan. "How about you, Tsareena?"

The Fruit Pokemon sighed. "The sooner I'm able to win this, the better."

"Well, unluckily for you, I'm gonna be the victor as soon as this dumb paralysis wears off…" Dhelmise replied as he tried to move.

"Yeah yeah yeah… you're almost done…" Lunala replied.

Another full minute went by, and Dhelmise attempted to move, but couldn't. He growled.

"Okay, this shit isn't funny! Why can't I move?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "You said two minutes!"

"Hey, it worked correctly the first time, I don't know what's going on now?" Lunala said with a shrug.

"Hey, maybe this is karma," Hakamo-o laughed.

A few seconds later, Tsareena was able to get up and stretch. She gave Dhelmise a cocky expression before kicking him while he was still lying down. "So sorry… not!"

She picked up the other files and stacked them up before putting them under her arm. She turned to Lunala. "Where's the outside file?"

"It's right outside the door," Lunala said cockily.

Hearing this, Dhelmise grew perturbed and enraged. "WHOA! HOLD THE HELL UP! THAT'S NOT EVEN REMOTELY FAIR!"

"Shut it!" Hakamo-o exclaimed before turning back to Tsareena. "Now hurry up and go win this thing!"

Tsareena nodded, taking her files and running outside. Hakamo-o and Lunala stared down at the Sea Creeper Pokemon, who looked very agitated.

"You know, this has been the most bullshit challenge you've even pulled from your ass…" Dhelmise commented.

"I can't wait for the others to kick your ass when you get eliminated…" Lunala replied. "I'm sure Incineroar would most _definitely_ like some fun time with you…"

 **000**

" _What? Big Pussy's still upset about a few words? Pathetic…"_

"I WILL TEAR HIM APART!" Incineroar roared, as Lycanroc had to keep her friend from smashing the television.

"Just like Dhelmise said… pathetic…" Togedemaru laughed as she walked back to the living room with a stack of toasted waffles.

"No, what's pathetic is that you're still stuffing your face like some sort of garbage disposal…"

"That analogy is shit…" the Roly-Poly Pokemon responded deadpan as she sat down and began feasting on the waffles on her plate.

"So is your attitude," Passimian commented, his arms folded.

"Says the guy who couldn't control his hormones or tell a chick that you want her…" Togedemaru retorted. "And now… she's gone lezzy, so… you shoulda did better…"

"Meanwhile, the chances of you getting a boyfriend are very low considering your personality and tendency to eat any and everything in one go…" Oricorio replied.

Togedemaru scoffed. "I can just get a Munchlax or Snorlax as a man. So, your argument is invalid…"

"Ooh… fat slobs who eat and sleep all of their lives… SCORE!" Drampa commented.

"Quiet, freak!"

Drampa rolled his eyes.

 **000**

Tsareena entered the main building of the island, after having to run from the Type: Null and hit it with Trop Kick.

Panting, the Fruit Pokemon looked around and saw a file sitting on an end table. She walked over to get it, not even caring to whom it belonged. She added it to her stack, holding it under her arm with the rest.

"This… is almost over," she said to herself. "You've got this, Tsareena."

She went toward the door in front of her. They had a black hinge and a yellow diamond over the top. Blue dots decorated a part of the hinges. She took a deep breath before entering through the door.

Entering the next room, she immediately saw a file sitting before a blue pressure pad sitting against the wall. Admiring the rest of the room, she noticed four, yellow geometrical lights hanging from the ceiling.

There was a small table with a couple of chairs across from a decently sized bed. Black tinted windows surrounded a bit of the room's wall. Satin drapes were in front of the chamber with the pressure pad.

"Wow, this room's beautiful," she said approaching the file. Picking it up, a smile grew on her face. "Maybe when I win, I'll be able to remodel _my_ room like this. Maybe even a bit better."

She stepped onto the blue pressure plate, and felt an intern tingling sensation overcome her and she was teleported out of the room.

 **000**

"HA!" Lunala exclaimed. "Now all she has to do is place the files down, get the Silvally out and she wins!"

Dhelmise, still on the ground, continued trying to move. "THIS IS BULLSHIT! ONE OF YOU IS DOING THIS SHIT!"

"Oh I wish we were…" Hakamo-o laughed, staring at the screen across from them. "Come on Tsareena!"

 **000**

Tsareena, examining her new environment, gaped in shock. There was a large platform before her, as she stood on a smaller, octagonal one. The walls were completely white, with numerous squares of varying sizes decorating it. There was water surrounding the entire room. She started walking toward the center and turned to the left, deciding to use the left pressure plate to summon her Silvally.

She smiled as she approached the pressure plate. Suddenly, without warning, a familiar face appeared in front of her. "Nice try, smart-dumb bitch…"

Dhelmise levitated the Fruit Pokemon up before stealing all of her files. Then, not wanting to deal with her further, threw her into the opposing wall and into the water.

 **000**

"WHAT?!" the eliminated contestants bellowed in complete awe.

 **000**

"WHAT?!" Lunala and Hakamo-o both exclaimed, before looking back down on the ground.

The Sea Creeper Pokemon was gone.

 **000**

Dhelmise whistled his same favorite pirate tune as he floated to the opposing pressure plate and dropped the files onto the pressure plate.

A creaking was heard as a cage was lowered from a square in the ceiling. He turned around and watched as the larger Synthetic Pokemon came down. It held an intimidating glare toward him, which he didn't mind at all.

As the cage touched the floor, it immediately opened, allowing the Silvally to charge toward Dhelmise. Its eyes, tail, and spikes were a deep, red color, signifying that it was a fire-type at the moment.

Dhelmise floated upwards, but the Silvally quickly followed, leaping up and swiping him repeatedly with a Multi-Attack.

The Silvally started falling back to the ground, with Dhelmise recoiling from the damage. However, he regained his composure, and, already being completely annoyed by everything that's transpired, formed a large, blue orb from high up and used Surf.

The large wave of water washed over the entire platform, damaging the Silvally, but not knocking it out. Dhelmise then proceeded to fire numerous Shadow Balls at the Silvally as it tried to dodge each one, slipping up on the wet floor every time.

 **-000-**

Tsareena had been trying to swim back toward the platform and get back on, but the height was far too high. However, there was one thing that she could do.

Kicking her legs extremely hard, she propelled herself upwards, landing on the platform with an infuriated glare. "DHELMISE!" she screeched.

Dhelmise, seeing this, stifled a laugh, as the Silvally tilted its head in confusion. Seeing this, Dhelmise sneered to himself and blasted another ball of water toward the Silvally, sending both it, and Tsareena over the edge and into the water.

"Ugh! You smug, cheating bastard!"

"Of fuck you…" Dhelmise replied. "You fucked over my files, you dumb bitch, _and_ you stole from me twice, so… yeah. Karma…"

Dhelmise eyed the Silvally, which was weakly trying to swim back to the platform. Dhelmise fired one last Shadow Ball at it, with it letting out a pained bark.

When the smoke cleared… it was revealed to have fainted.

A horn blared. Tsareena looked down in disappointment. Dhelmise didn't say another word. He only teleported out of the vicinity, leaving the Fruit Pokemon with the unconscious Silvally.

 **000**

Everyone in the house on Poni was in silence. _Dhelmise_ just secured his spot… in the finale…

"Well…" Oricorio said, clearing her throat. "Now there's a fifty-fifty chance that we'll have a jackass win… or have a decent person win…"

Lycanroc sighed. "That was kinda cruel…" she remarked.

"Hell, that's smart if you ask me. Pretend to still be paralyzed and then swoop in to take the win? Brilliant!"

Incineroar rose up from his spot, surprising Lycanroc, as well as a few others.

"Uh…" Pyukumuku started. "You think Incineroar will be okay?"

Suddenly, an intense roar of fury was heard, followed by numerous crashes, which made everyone flinch and jump every time it occurred.

"He's not," Drampa stated, before feeling himself being dragged into the room. "HEEEEELP!"

"Oh no…" Lycanroc commented as she hopped off the couch and rushed toward the back to help Drampa and try to calm down Incineroar.

 **000**

Lunala was twitching, unable to register what she'd just seen occur. There was no way. There was just no way!

Dhelmise teleported before the two of them. "There, I'm in the finals now. Can you send Tsareena back now so we can get on with this?" his voice not offering any type of empathy. He was toneless.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Hakamo-o exclaimed, clenching her fists.

"She stole from me twice and ruined my fucking files!" Dhelmise shot back. "If that's fucking allowed, then I'm allowed to steal her shit and toss her into water to hinder her. Now suck it up!"

Hakamo-o snarled, glaring daggers at him.

Eventually, Lunala let out a sigh. "Alright… Tsareena's out," she said, having a somber tone. "Dhelmise, you're in… sadly…"

Dhelmise just remained silent, not really caring at this point.

"Alright, uh… congratulations you two. Uh… yeah, I'll send you two back to the hotel, and Tsareena will go to the others…" Lunala replied.

"Whatever…" Dhelmise responded as he and Hakamo-o were teleported away.

Lunala sighed and felt so emotional about the situation. She actually felt a few tears begin to form in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, but her sniffling couldn't be silenced.

 **000**

Hakamo-o and Dhelmise found themselves back in front of the hotel. Hakamo-o was still completely fed up with the Sea Creeper Pokemon. As he prepared to enter the hotel, she decided to call him out.

"JUST WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" she roared with a glare.

Dhelmise didn't stop for her. He was done dealing with bullshit. Unluckily, for him, Hakamo-o rushed after him and blocked his way.

"Answer my fucking question or I swear, I will fucking kill you in your sleep!" she snapped, teeth bared.

Dhelmise scoffed. "You know what, you can go fuck yourself…" he said emotionlessly, shoving past her.

"What? Too much of a prick to take responsibility for all of the bullshit you've caused?"

Hearing that made Dhelmise stop. He growled and turned around. "What? Tell me WHAT bullshit I've caused. The most that I've fucking done around here is expose Mudsdale and Bewear and do what I just fucking did to Tsareena to get to this point! Everything else that you may bring up was a fucking result of _you fucks_ getting triggered and lashing out at me. And what do I do? I retaliate. So, I'm sorry that all of you losers don't know how to play the fucking game and get fed up over simple fucking words that you can tune out!"

"WORDS CAN STILL HURT, YOU INSENSITIVE FUCK!"

"Oh… my… Arceus, I never realized! Please! Burn me at the stake for hurting someone's feelings!" Dhelmise responded with a glare. "Now, if you insist on bitching at me over something that seems to have hardly affected you, since you're here, I'm gonna go to my room…"

The ghost- and grass-type floated through the ceiling, leaving a still infuriated Hakamo-o in the lobby.

 **000**

Lunala and Tsareena teleported to the house on Poni Island and immediately saw that it was set alight, with all of the competitors out of it and watching it burn.

Lunala gaped, as Tsareena just stared.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?"

"Oh Incineroar got pissed off by Dhelmise winning and burned the house down," Togedemaru said nonchalantly.

"Oh my fucking… and none of you thought to put it out!?"

"You realize there are literally NO water-types here other than Pyukumuku, right?" Oricorio asked. "And he literally knows nothing but status moves…"

Pyukumuku chirped, "Yep."

Lunala sighed as she formed a pink bubble around the house, eventually making the flames go out.

"Nice," Passimian commented before looking to Tsareena. "Uh… hey Tsareena…"

"Hello everyone…" she greeted, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I'm sure this is a bit surprising and you have questions, but-"

"Nope, no questions," Bewear stated.

"Speak for yourself," Gumshoos said, stepping forward. "You and I have a lot to talk about…"

Tsareena rose a brow before giggling. She happened to look around and saw Lycanroc patting Incineroar's back as he sat on a nearby rock holding his head. She walked over to them.

"Hey… uh… you guys okay?"

"Well, Incineroar's still miffed that Dhelmise is in the finals, but… I'm pretty decent," Lycanroc replied. "And.. sorry for what's been going on with Haka…"

"Let's just not talk about it. She apologized when I was paralyzed," Tsareena replied. "Let's just let bygones be bygones…"

Lycanroc smirked and nodded. "Alright then…"

"I hate my life…" Incineroar grumbled as Tsareena joined in on patting his back.

Seeing this, Lunala took a breath. "Alright, everyone! If I may have your attention!"

Everyone turned to face her. "Now, you all will be returning for the finale, so, I've decided to allow you guys back into the hotel until that day comes, which will be Friday."

Immediately, everyone cheered at the fact that they'll be going back.

"Yep, so let's get you all back and see what happens in the finale, eh?" Lunala continued, fighting back the urge to cry.

"Uh… you good?" Shiinotic happened to ask, surprising everyone. He seemed to have just popped up from nowhere!

"Uh…. yeah," Lunala lied with a nod.

"No you're not…" Shiinotic replied with a smile.

"Okay, let's just get you guys out of here…" Lunala said, officially creeped out by the Illuminating Pokemon.

Pink light enveloped everyone as they were teleported away.

 **000**

 **Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! I just hope that this was written decently. Hakamo-o vs. Dhelmise! I wonder who'll win… and of course a lot of people are peeved. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you guys next time on Total… Pokemon… Alola! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Review if you please…" Tsareena stated.**

 **000**

 **A Tsareena walked in front of a camera before tripping, causing the camera to tilt and focus on her hindquarters.**

" **Aww…. well, choose me."**


	20. Episode 20: An Ultra Ending

**THE FINAL SHOWDOWN! LET'S SEE WHO TAKES IT HOME!**

 **000**

Upon seeing that all of the previously eliminated contestants would be returning for one day and night in order to be around for the finale, the two finalists had majorly different reactions. While Hakamo-o was completely overjoyed, Dhelmise held an indifferent, more so agitated, demeanor.

Throughout the day, Dhelmise remained invisible, not wanting to hear or deal with anyone complaining about how much of an awful person he was. He was still able to hear some of that, but as long as he wasn't in the vicinity being 'confronted', he was alright.

It was currently 10:17 at night on Thursday. Dhelmise floated in his room, prepared to go to sleep. With a yawn, Dhelmise hung himself on his nail and let out a breath. "I'll never understand these simpletons. If you're _that_ triggered by someone hurting your damn feelings, then the real world will be comparable to the Distortion World for you…"

He could never understand the logic behind anyone who gets so upset and vows revenge over someone who is simply playing the game. Just because you were outsmarted or targeted didn't mean that it's the end of the world. It always happened, no matter what.

"Let's see, you have the 'villain' who is actually just another player strategizing and playing the game in order to win, and whenever they make it further, people act like they're the worst person on the planet. Meanwhile they're making friends and fucking strangers that they hardly know anything about instead of remaining focused," he stated to himself. "Fucking piteous…'

He let out a sigh. "But, it's always the case for these stupid shows. The people actually trying to succeed and compete are treated like trash, and the losers who're just goody two shoes with no true sense of competition are praised."

He yawned. "Just plain idiotic…" he said with a trailing voice as he settled on his nail.

 **000**

Hakamo-o was laying in her bed, with Lycanroc sitting at the foot of it. Ever since they got back, the two of them had been borderline inseparable. The two had conversed about Hakamo-o's behavior and mindset, and just hung out with Incineroar and Tsareena for a good amount of time.

Now, at the moment, the two were just relaxing in her room.

"So, how do you think you'll do tomorrow?" Lycanroc asked, lying on her stomach on the Scaly Pokemon's bed.

Hakamo-o was sitting against the headboard with a small smile. Having a friend around really lightened her mood. But, thinking about the question brought up, Hakamo-o could only sigh. "Well, given what Dhelmise was able to do to Tsareena, I honestly have no fucking expectations," she said, folding her arms with vexation in the tone of her voice.

"Oh come on, don't say that…" Lycanroc replied, hearing the pessimism come from her lips. "You never know. Maybe Solgaleo and Lunala will ban him from using the same things he used on Tsareena. There's always a possibility for things to go your way."

Hakamo-o only shrugged, prompting the Wolf Pokemon to scoff and roll her eyes playfully. Then, a thought came to her head. "Have you spoken to Lucario lately?"

"Yeah… right before I called you on Monday," Hakamo-o replied. "Why?"

"Well… don't you think you should get a bit more comfort from your girlfriend?" Lycanroc queried. "Maybe it'll change your mood…"

Hakamo-o chortled. "I doubt that she'd want to be bothered by my stupid mood. She still has to deal with the other assholes on her show, while I'm only going against one…"

"Who, according to Incineroar, is the equivalent of twenty offensive assholes…" Lycanroc replied.

Hearing that, Hakamo-o gained a thoughtful look. "Yeah, that sounds about right…"

"Well then, I'm sure you _both_ have more things to talk to each other about," Lycanroc replied, picking up Hakamo-o's phone, which was sitting next to the dragon- and fighting-type.

Going to her contacts, she saw that she and Lucario were the only contacts that she had. She rose a brow. "Well, I guess I understand why we're the only ones in your phone, so… let's give her a call…"

"Lycanroc…" the Scaly Pokemon trailed off with a stern tone.

Her phone began to ring and Lycanroc tossed her the phone before starting to head out of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm giving you two some privacy, of course," Lycanroc replied with a wink. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, hun…"

"Arceus damn it, Lycanroc…" Hakamo-o replied before holding the phone up to her ear.

 **000**

The next morning

 **000**

Dhelmise was still snoozing on his nail without a care in the world. As he slept, he suddenly heard knocking on his door. He heard the irritable noise and initially decided to ignore it, but when the pounding got louder, he found himself groaning in annoyance.

Who the hell would want to visit him anyway?

"GO AWAY!" he shouted.

"Open the door, shit-face!" he heard the voice of Togedemaru shout at him.

He didn't respond, not wanting to deal with anybody until the final challenge. Plus, Togedemaru was more of an annoyance than anything.

"I'm not gonna kick your ass if that's what you're thinking…" he heard her explain.

Hearing that, he gained a scowl. There was no chance that she'd beat him in a battle.

"Bitch! The only thing you'd kick my ass at is an eating competition," he retorted.

"I'm pretty much the only support that you're gonna get, so you might as well let me in… unless you're still gonna be a prick…"

"This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed!" Dhelmise replied.

"Fine, prick. Just know that when you get out here, you're in for a lot…"

Dhelmise kept hanging on his nail before yawning. He gazed toward his clock and saw that it was 9:28 AM. He groaned. "I really don't want to get up today."

Regardless, the Sea Creeper Pokemon floated off of his nail and sighed. "Let the bullshit begin…"

He phased through the hotel floor, heading down to the second floor for breakfast.

 **000**

Hakamo-o ended up awakening at 8:59 in the morning, much to her chagrin, but she soon found herself exiting her room and heading to the cafeteria. She was currently sitting around a table with Lycanroc, Incineroar, Tsareena, and Oricorio.

"So, how'd the talk go with Lucario?"

Hakamo-o shrugged, twirling a fork on a half eaten pancake covered in syrup. "We didn't really talk about much. She just said that she was proud of me and wishes me the best, and that she had immunity for their next elimination ceremony…"

Tsareena giggled. "I can only imagine the surprise on both your faces if both of you actually won."

"Yeah… we spoke about that a few days ago…" Hakamo-o explained with a shrug.

Noticing her demeanor, Oricorio rose a brow. "Are things fine between you two? You seem so… down and apathetic when mentioning her."

"Huh? No, things are fine between us," Hakamo-o replied. "We just have to kinda get more comfortable with the whole 'relationship' thing."

"Yeah… being on different shows and only starting the relationship while _in the middle_ of the shows… it can cause a bit of an awkward situation," Incineroar said with a nod. "Well, luckily, today's the last day. Then, you just have to watch and wait for her to either get eliminated or win, and you guys' relationship can really kick off."

Hakamo-o nodded.

The doors of the cafe opened, and immediately, everyone went quiet as they turned to see who it was. Dhelmise, seeing the group before him, could only hold back a laugh. It was coincidental that four out of five of them hated his guts. Lycanroc didn't really _hate_ him, per se, but she didn't really offer much of an opinion on him anymore.

He decided to just ignore them and let them stew in their own loathing of him. As he gathered his usual fruit, he started hearing the five of them converse again.

"So, what do you suppose that today's challenge will be?" Tsareena inquired.

Incineroar's infuriated eyes were glued to Dhelmise as he went about getting his breakfast. He had the undying urge to murder the ghost- and grass-type. His claws were digging into the wood of the table, the sound of scraping getting Lycanroc's attention as she looked on the table and saw her friend clawing at the sleek material.

"Incineroar…" Lycanroc started, placing a paw over his as she saw his face, which was twisted in a fearsome grimace.

This contact caused Incineroar to glance down and take notice at who it was. He took a deep breath and retracted his claws from the table as Dhelmise left the vicinity.

"Well… good to see that you're able to control yourself around him…" Oricorio said sarcastically, making Incineroar pass her a chafe look.

"That motherfucker has made so many fucking offensive statements about gay people, so I'm sorry that I want to tear the seaweed apart with remorse!" Incineroar growled, slamming his hands on the table. Lycanroc rubbed his back as he panted softly before taking a deep breath and breathing out. He turned to Hakamo-o. "I hope that you win… I really do."

Hakamo-o nodded. "So do I. But, if he was willing to do what he did to Tsareena, who knows what that motherfucker is willing to do."

They all exchanged looks, nodding in agreement.

 **000**

Up on the seventh floor, Passimian, Drampa, Bewear, and Pyukumuku were all hanging out, having gotten food earlier and brought it all up there.

At the moment, Passimian was lifting weights while watching the cooking channel on the television hanging in the fitness section, while Drampa watched him with interest.

Bewear and Pyukumuku were playing a videogame, facing away from them. It seemed to be a block oriented game, but neither of them really knew what to do.

"So… uh…" Drampa started, eyeing the Teamwork Pokemon. "Are you still into Hakamo-o, Passimian?"

Passimian passed the dragon and wary glance. "Well, considering that she's already taken, I guess that my answer has to be _no_ …"

"Hmm…" he started, slithering up next to him. "Why don't you tell me a bit more about yours-"

Passimian dropped his weights in an instant. "Okay, let me stop you there. One, you pretty much helped get me kicked off the show. Two, you're a fucking pedophile pervert. And three, I'm not gay or bisexual, so you can get the hell away from me…"

Drampa gave him a look. "Okay, one… Togedemaru and Mudsdale helped too, and that was just strategy. Two, I'm twenty-seven, you're twenty-two, and that pedophile shit was all a fucking act. And three… uh… well, I have nothing for that."

"Drampa, I thought that you were into the girls…" Bewear spoke up as he and Pyukumuku turned to face the scene.

"I'm bi…" Drampa drawled.

"Oh… well, that's new," the Strong Arm Pokemon said, folding his arms.

"Ugh…" the Placid Pokemon groaned. "You know what, just forget everything I said. Who do you think is gonna win this stupid game?"

"Well, my heart is telling Hakamo-o, but my fucking brain is telling me Dhelmise," Passimian replied, his brain wiping away Drampa's courting attempt in an instant. "Like, the physical aspects could give it to her, and I would much prefer her to win. But, knowing Dhelmise, he'll probably use some ghostly shit and win that way."

"They could give him a handicap," Bewear spoke up. "I mean, they've done it before, why not now?"

"Because he's a cheeky bastard," Drampa replied. "Look at what happened in the last challenge! He got paralyzed twice or thrice, _pretended_ to stay down, and swooped in to steal the win at the last possible moment! Handicaps barely affect him!"

"Well, the 'villains' hardly ever win unless they pull some last minute bullshit that hinder the other guy, or in this case, girl…" Bewear reasoned. "So, while I don't really care about who wins, I guess Hakamo-o makes the most reasonable sense."

"Are you top or bottom?" Pyukumuku spoke up, making Drampa twitch.

 **000**

" **I hate my life…" Drampa groaned.**

 **000**

Gumshoos and Mudsdale were in the Stakeout Pokemon's room.

Neither of them were concerned with the game at the moment. Instead, they were talking about Mudsdale's future and what she was going through.

"So, how do you feel?" Gumshoos queried as the Draft Horse Pokemon lied on her bed.

Mudsdale, whose eyes were red from crying, sniffled before responding. "I feel like my world is crumbling and that there's nothing I can do about it because of this dumb kid!"

Gumshoos sighed upon hearing that. She was usually okay with people expressing their feelings as long as physically, and somewhat mentally, nobody was harmed. However, the way Mudsdale spoke about her own _unborn_ child, made her want to smack the pregnant horse.

"Mudsdale. Why do you insist on belittling your child so early? It isn't even born yet and it hasn't done anything to you other what being pregnant does to all girls…"

"Because that bastard Bewear made this happen!" Mudsdale growled. "He forces himself on me, and then we start fucking over and over again. Now I'm pregnant, and unless I find someone into fucking pregnant girls, then-"

"MUDSDALE!" Gumshoos exclaimed, holding her head, which startled the Draft Horse Pokemon a bit. "Have you ever stopped and realized that maybe, just _maybe,_ you should be more focused on your future instead of focusing on getting dicked down at any given moment?"

"Hey, I don't tell you how to live _your_ life…"

"Mudsdale… you're a nymphomaniac…" Gumshoos stated. "The lifestyle choice you want isn't healthy. There could be more situations like this! You could get pregnant _again_ , you could contract an STI, you could get a urinary tract infection, and-"

"Have you just looked all of this up or are do you just know from experience?" Mudsdale responded with a glare.

Gumshoos gave her a look. "Look, I'm just trying to ease your pain and give you advice so that you don't end up ruining your _entire_ life. I know that you don't want the kid. Fine, just give it to Bewear, but don't immediately go back to acting like a… well..."

"Like a slut?" Mudsdale finished, her eyes tightening in a glare.

"You said it, not me," she replied.

"You didn't have to…" Mudsdale replied as she got off of the Stakeout Pokemon's bed and headed to the door.

Gumshoos only sighed.

 **000**

" **Who does she think she is? There's nothing wrong with wanting to have sex with consenting partners!" Mudsdale exclaimed. "She points out all of the negatives even though condoms are a thing, and after this burden is gone, I'm gonna get my tubes tied just like my mom did after she had me…"**

 **000**

Lunala, who had taken a swig of Mewtwo's Awakening, was up and about since five in the morning, trying to find her co-host in order for them to go and host the final challenge for their season. She had checked his room, the kitchen, the living room, and asked around, but no one could offer her any assistance. She sighed in exasperation before deciding to check his room again. The Moone Pokemon flew up to the floor of Solgaleo's room, and upon going inside, found that no one was there, still.

She started checking different areas of his room for any clues. Opening one of the drawers next to his bed, he noticed not one, but _two_ empty bottles of antidepressants.

"Oh no…" she started, immediately getting worried. Now, pills couldn't really kill him, but with his mental state out of whack, she would probably have to deal with the finale _alone_ , and she didn't want that. This was for both of them! She need to find him this instant and help him get better.

After looking even more thoroughly, she eventually saw Entei walking shakily with plate of strudel. Lunala's eyes widened and she swiftly floated in front of the the Volcano Pokemon. "Where is he…" she demanded to know.

Entei moved out of the way and continued to walk, choosing not to answer. Getting vexed, Lunala stopped him midway and lifted him up before bringing him back to face her. "I'm gonna ask again… _Where… is… Solgaleo…_?" she interrogated.

Entei growled.

 **-000-**

Lunala threw Entei's door open, and immediately felt a large amount of heat hit her in the face.

Groaning, she looked forward and saw Solgaleo lying on the floor of Entei's room. He didn't move, even when the door swung open and hit the wall.

She gasped and flew up to him, picking up his head. He was unconscious, but still breathing. She looked back at Entei. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Hey, believe it or not, he came to me!" Entei growled.

"What?!"

"He knocked on my door last night around seven; he looked like a zombie when I opened the door," Entei explained. "His eyes were white and he just barged in. We uh… did some things, and then he suddenly passed out midway through!"

Lunala shuddered at the thought before looking back down at her co-host and friend. She sighed and smacked him, making Entei flinch. After a few seconds, Solgaleo's eyes slowly opened.

Through his eyes, everything was a blur, and he had a sharp pain in his head. Eventually, as he sat up, things began to be a bit clearer, but he felt extremely sick. Lunala sighed in relief, hugging him. "Are you okay?"

Solgaleo looked around. "Where am I?"

"You're in Entei's room," Lunala replied, making Solgaleo sigh.

"Why did you think that taking two whole bottles of antidepressants would be a good idea!?" Lunala exclaimed. "I know you have depression, but please! Don't scare me like this…"

"Sorry…" Solgaleo replied with a sigh, looking down. "I just don't know if I can handle another day of Dhelmise's bullshit. He doesn't really help my case…"

"Just… put in some earphones or something. Just please… this is something special for the both of us; we both started it and I want both of us to finish it…" Lunala replied.

After a while, Solgaleo let out another sigh. "Alright," he replied, softly as he rolled over and got onto all fours. As he took a step, he felt his head throb and he groaned.

Lunala helped him stay upright. "Come on. I'll try to handle the main hosting and you can just talk whenever…"

Solgaleo nodded, his head still throbbing. Lunala teleported the two of them out of the Volcano Pokemon's room, making him grumble in annoyance.

 **000**

Hakamo-o, Lycanroc, Incineroar, Oricorio, and Tsareena exited the elevator and entered the lobby. It was almost eleven o'clock at this point, so Hakamo-o had a feeling that the challenge was going to start soon.

And, her guess was correct, as the two hosts teleported into the hotel. Solgaleo had a sick, tired expression, while Lunala had a half-smile. Seeing them in this condition, a bit of worry washed over everyone.

"Uh… is everything okay?" Lycanroc queried.

"Well…" Lunala started before turning to Solgaleo. "...somewhat, but it'll be okay. It's time for the finale after all!"

Hakamo-o took a breath as Lycanroc pat her back with a smile.

Lunala floated over to the mic at the front desk. "All contestants report to the lobby! I repeat, all contestants report to the lobby!"

 **-000-**

A few minutes later, everyone made it down, everyone except Dhelmise. Seeing this, Lunala sighed. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me…"

Her eyes glowed pink, and a few seconds later, Dhelmise appeared and fell onto the ground with a _CLANG_! His body was soaking wet as water started pooling underneath him.

He groaned. "Is it finally time?"

"Yeah. You'd know that if you actually listened instead of talking so damn much!" Oricorio stated, in her Sensu Form.

Dhelmise gave her a look. "You fucks realize that I was at the beach right? So, sorry I wasn't able to hear anything…" he replied in an exasperated tone.

"Okay, look," Lunala started, passing Dhelmise a gaze of irritation. "This is the finale. You all get to go back home when this is over, so can you _please_ NOT act like a jackass?"

"Coming from the hosts who constantly give me obstacles and get upset at me for doing the same things as everyone else," Dhelmise retorted.

Lunala glowered at him, while Solgaleo, having done was Lunala said, got some earphones and placed them in his ears via kinesis. She then took a deep breath. Everyone became enveloped in a pink aura before being teleported out of the hotel lobby.

 **000**

All of the contestants reappeared in a familiar vicinity. There were large, multi-layered stone walls, with a large, dried out tree sitting next to a cave entrance.

"Vast Poni Canyon?" Passimian queried. "This is where this grand finale is located?"

Lunala gave him a look, silently telling him to stop talking. Passimian seemed to have gotten the message, as he sheepishly looked to the side in silence.

The Moone Pokemon's attention turned to the two finalists. She gained a small smile. "Alright you two. You were able to outlast everyone else in the competition and have finally made it to this point. So, congrats…"

The two of them remained silent, though while Hakamo-o had a smile on her face, Dhelmise kept a nonchalant expression.

"Now, this will end up being your ultimate challenge," Lunala continued.

"Compared to the shit that you made me and Tsareena do last time, I sincerely doubt that…" Dhelmise responded.

Solgaleo, despite having earphones in his ears, could still hear Dhelmise faintly. This made him groan. "Just shut the hell up…" Solgaleo grumbled to himself, holding his head.

"Sheesh, what's wrong with _him_?" Togedemaru asked, seeing him do this.

"Personal matters that we're not going to get into…" Lunala told the Roly-Poly Pokemon; she turned her attention to the finalists once again. "Now, it's time for the final challenge of Total Pokemon: Alola, and surprisingly, it won't be just one challenge..."

Hakamo-o and Dhelmise immediately exchanged looks before setting their attention back to the hosts. This was shocking.

"What do you mean it won't just be one challenge?" Hakamo-o questioned. "Isn't this supposed to be-"

"Allow me to explain," Lunala giggled. "Throughout Vast Poni Canyon, you will find the nine Ultra Beasts. When you encounter them, they will issue you a challenge. Once you complete the challenge, you will receive a charm."

The Moone Pokemon held up a thin necklace with a circular charm at the end of it. The charm she was holding resembled her face.

"Your goal is to find and complete each challenge presented to you, then you have to navigate your way out of the Vast Poni Canyon and get to the Altar of the Sunne and Moone," Lunala explained. "Once there, play the flute, and open the Ultra Wormhole. Then, you throw all of your charms inside. The player who does all of this the fastest in the champion of Total Pokemon: Alola."

"So, actually, this is ten challenges in one?" Dhelmise queried. "Greeeeat…"

"Hey, if you want to win, you gotta earn it," Lunala replied with a smirk before gaining a serious glare. "And Dhelmise, no doing the same thing as last time. This is going to be a fair fight…"

"Fair? FAIR!?" Dhelmise exclaimed. "You assholes have been hindering me throughout this game because I say things that you don't fucking like! So don't you tell me about fairness!"

"Oh… looks like someone's getting a taste of their own medicine…" Gumshoos observed, folding her arms.

Dhelmise turned back to her. "Y'know, I make the overused generalization joke dealing with how you look, but again, it's overused."

"Just like your non-existent mouth!" Incineroar snapped.

Dhelmise rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I've explained you guys challenge," Lunala replied, holding back her urge to talk down to Dhelmise. "I wish you the best, and… the finale of Total Pokemon: Alola begins… NOW!"

Hakamo-o and Dhelmise immediately rushed into the cave, with the others cheering on Hakamo-o. Togedemaru was rooting for Dhelmise, but cheering wasn't her thing.

 **000**

Going into the Vast Poni Canyon, the two finalists looked around observantly, attempting to see if there was any sign of an Ultra Beast. Much to their surprise, a large, red buff mosquito was sitting at the top of a hill next to a stone pillar. The pillar had strange markings on it, but they were ignored as the two finalists made it up to the Swollen Pokemon, who had its arms folded.

"Alright, welcome to a challenge," Buzzwole introduced.

"Get on with it, Zika Virus…" Dhelmise replied, making Hakamo-o glower at him in annoyance.

"...Right," Buzzwole said, not really affected by Dhelmise's snide comment. "Anyway, my challenge will be pretty easy."

Hakamo-o let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good to hear."

"You see all of these big rocks?" Buzzwole replied, gesturing to all of the large rocks that were lining paths and blocking exits. "You have to smash all of them. This first round will be a race, and then the next rounds will be time-based."

"Breaking rocks…" Dhelmise started, his tone emotionless. "This is seriously a challenge for the finale… after all of that bullshit we had to do Wednesday?"

"Dhelmise, can't you just shut up and do the fucking challenge?!" Hakamo-o questioned agitatedly.

"Can't you date a _guy_?" Dhelmise retorted, making Hakamo-o gape before growling.

"So yeah…" Buzzwole continued, unbothered by their brief interaction. "The one who breaks the most rocks will get their charm first. Then, the person that's left has to try and break _all_ of the rocks within twenty seconds."

Hakamo-o and Dhelmise looked around at all of the rocks in the vicinity. There must have been about thirty in total. They exchanged competitive looks; neither of them wanted to deal with a time trial.

"Alright, you can start… now!" the mosquito announced.

 **-000-**

Hakamo-o rushed to the nearest rock that was sitting along a path and leapt up, her right arm glowing. She struck the rock, reducing it to pebbles with ease. She heard a repeated banging sound and happened to look over.

There, she saw Dhelmise simply using his anchor to smash the large stones in succession with no break in-between. With a surprised gasp, the dragon- and fighting-type quickly moved on to the next rock, using Brick Break to destroy _it_ as well.

The two finalists went at the rocks for almost five minutes, with Dhelmise showing no sign of exhaustion as he effortlessly swung his anchor back and forth to smash the stones in his way.

Hakamo-o, smashing her eleventh rock, could only bare her teeth in anger as Dhelmise wiped out all of the other rocks in the vicinity. She was feeling a bit fatigued, but she knew that she needed to keep going.

She ran up to the next rock, only to be knocked back when pieces of it struck her. Dhelmise had smashed it, nearly hitting her as well.

Showing no care, the Sea Creeper Pokemon started heading back toward the bug- and fighting-type. Hakamo-o looked around the area and saw that all of the other rocks were already broken. Disappointment washed over Hakamo-o like a tidal wave; she should have gone faster.

She sulked over to the two, just as Dhelmise was getting his first charm. It was wrapped around the spokes of his wheel and it had Buzzwole's face on it.

"Alright, you're free to go, now…" Buzzwole said, waving Dhelmise away.

After being given his charm, the markings on the lower half of the pillar next to Buzzwole glowed white. Dhelmise gave the bug a look. "Okay, and where do I go in order to find another one of you losers?"

"You have to _look_ for the rest of them," Buzzwole replied. "I'm not their keeper…."

Dhelmise groaned; he glanced up and looked at the exit that was there, but then recalled the other path that was to the left from where they first entered. Without a word, he started floating back toward the entrance before turning into the pathway.

Hakamo-o sighed.

 **000**

"Well, this doesn't look good," Drampa remarked, watching the monitor with the others.

"GOODNESS is-" Shiinotic started, startling everyone with his sudden appearance.

Bewear picked up the Illuminating Pokemon, covering his mouth so that he couldn't continue rambling.

"Come on Haka…" Lycanroc urged, looking on in worry.

 **000**

Dhelmise, going through the exit, immediately found himself in front of two paths. One leading up another hill, and the other leading into a larger cave.

As he gazed up the hill, he noticed a creature standing at the top of it, next to another stone pillar that was similar to the one that Buzzwole was standing next to.

"Eh, if there's another one of these fucks in that cave, that's two for the price of one…" he told himself before deciding to go up the hill.

Making up the hill, Dhelmise's 'eyes' were set upon a figure made of black cables with a spiky orb as its head. "Hey! Cable guy, I need you to fix my TV back home…" Dhelmise stated, approaching him.

"Oh ha ha, that's _very_ funny…" Xurkitree replied sarcastically, folding his arms. "I have half a mind to kick your ass and not give you anything…"

Dhelmise groaned. "I take it back. Just give me my damn challenge…"

"Uh huh… that's what I thought…" Xurkitree retorted. "Now, your next challenge is to find two long crystals that are hidden somewhere in the canyon. You have to bring them back and place them into these slots…"

The Glowing Pokemon stepped back, revealing two trapezoidal pedestals, each with two diamond shaped holes.

"Wait… you're telling me that I have to go back in there and find two fucking crystals that could be anywhere?!"

"Hey, don't like it? Shouldn't have come this far…" Xurkitree retorted.

Dhelmise groaned as he floated back down the hill. "Fuck this, I'm going into the other cave…"

 **000**

Hakamo-o smashed the last rock, panting from exhaustion. She ran back down to Buzzwole, her fists clenched, nearly tripping due to the downward slope.

"You're lucky… you had two milliseconds left…" Buzzwole said, looking at a stopwatch in his hand.

Hakamo-o sighed in relief. "Thank Arceus…"

Buzzwole put a necklace around her neck, making Hakamo-o smile a bit. However, she knew that she'd need to hurry up and keep moving. Because Dhelmise took the path that was lower, Hakamo-o decided to take the higher ground.

 **-000-**

After going back up the rocky slopes, Hakamo-o made her way outside. As soon as she came out, she saw a large boulder in the middle of a section. There was grass surrounding the left side, and a clear path to the right. Going down the path, she looked down warily, seeing how high of a drop it was.

She looked to the down and saw everyone watching a screen. She rolled her eyes before focusing forward and nearly jumped at what she saw standing there. There was a colorful, orb covered pole with a white head covered in smaller bumps. There were flowers on the side of the head.

Like Buzzwole, he was standing next to a stone pillar. She sighed and knew that she'd have to approach it. Seeing her coming, the UB wave.

"Hello there. You can call me Burst, short for Burcephalon," it introduced.

"Uh… hi?" Hakamo-o responded questioningly. "What's my challenge?"

"Well, all you can see, below this 'bridge' is a large, wooden pool of water," Burst explained. "Inside of the water, are balls. All you have to do is bring up twenty-five of them in under a minute and you'll earn your next charm."

Hakamo-o sighed. "Okay, and how am I going to do this? Is there a bungee cord or something?"

"Yep. Here you go," Burst said, moving forward and revealing a coiled up yellow bungee cord with a harness attached to it.

Hakamo-o smirked as she walked toward the cord and harness. Making sure that the cord was secure, she placed the harness around herself and yanked on the cable, making sure it was stable. She took a deep breath and looked over the edge.

"Alright, let me know and I'll start your minute…" Burst replied, holding a stopwatch.

Hakamo-o groaned. "Fine. I'm going right… NOW!"

The Scaly Pokemon leapt off of the edge, diving into the pool. Once she hit, she felt around and grabbed a good amount of the balls before springing back up due to the band's elasticity. Unluckily for her, there was a small, unnoticeable nick in the cable, causing it to snap as she sprang back up. She fell back down, landing in the water.

"Oh crap…." Burst groaned, seeing what happened.

Hakamo-o swam to the surface and growled as she glared upwards. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"SORRY!"

 **-000-**

Stomping back up with clenched fists, Hakamo-o growled at Burst, who could only laugh sheepishly. He held out a necklace with a charm, which Hakamo-o immediately snatched from his hand. She proceeded forward, with the stone pillar's top markings glowing.

On her way, she pushed the UB off of the bridge, sending him down, screaming. As she reached the opposing side and started heading over, she heard the splash and rolled her eyes.

 **000**

" **What?" Hakamo-o questioned. "That nimrod would have cost me the game!"**

 **She sighed. "I never thought it could be more stressful than it already was…"**

 **000**

Dhelmise ended up finding a glass jellyfish in the cave and was currently being given a long, heartfelt speech about how great it'd be if he was in a relationship with Pyukumuku. The Sea Creeper Pokemon twitched with every word that came from her lips. If he wasn't already part ghost-type, he would have attempted suicide then and there.

"And that's why you and Pyukumuku would be cute together…" the Parasite Pokemon finished giddily.

Dhelmise let out a pained groan. "Someone kill me now…" he mumbled to himself before regaining focus. "Okay, if you're done with your delusional ranting… I'd appreciate my actual _challenge_ , please…"

"Oh right, right…" Nihilego replied, momentarily forgetting about the task she was brought there to perform. "Uh… your challenge is… trivia!"

"Oh god…" Dhelmise drawled.

"Now, there are numerous questions, and you have to answer ten in succession in order get the charm…" Nihilego explained, tapping the flat rock sitting next to her, which held numerous stacks of cards.

"Okay, so what happens if I don't know the shit?" Dhelmise inquired.

"Then I poison you," Nihilego replied cheerily, which creeped Dhelmise out a bit. "And when you pass out, I just wait for you to wake back up and we do it again!"

"I'd still be poisoned!"

"Nuh-uh…" Nihilego replied before gesturing to a pile of antidotes and potions.

Dhelmise groaned upon seeing the healing sprays. "Just bring on the questions…"

"Okay," Nihilego replied before clearing her throat. "What did Gumshoos say that she wanted to be?"

Dhelmise groaned. "I really don't bother to remember information on losers, but… I just so happen to remember that the Horse Whisperer wants to be some sort of lawyer or investigator…"

"Correct!"

 **000**

"Horse Whisperer?!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Uh, considering that the main person you talk to, out of all of us, is Mudsdale… I can understand where he gets that from," Passimian replied as the others either nodded or paid it no mind.

The Stakeout Pokemon grumbled something incoherent under her breath.

 **000**

"Question two… what is Drampa's preferred sexual position?" Nihilego asked with a sly smirk.

Dhelmise twitched, unable to comprehend why that question existed. Just why? And how the hell would anyone know that other than Drampa himself?!

He was going to have to take a guess. "First off… Drampa now disgusts me even more… and secondly… I have no fucking idea, but I'm gonna guess and say… reverse cowgirl…"

"Nope," Nihilego chirped before using Acid Spray, causing the Sea Creeper Pokemon to scream out from the burning pain. "It's actually something that he called the 'Pussylicious Prostate Pounder…'"

Dhelmise remained silent upon being told that. He didn't even want to know what that entailed. "Can you just move on? Start over or… whatever…"

 **000**

All eyes were currently on Drampa, whose own eyes remained focused on the screen. Beads of sweat dripped from his neck and face. He didn't even give them that information! Or at least… he didn't think he did.

"Pussylicious… Prostate… Pounder…" Tsareena repeated before taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'm not going to ask about what that entails, Drampa. But, just know that I find it very disturbing nonetheless…"

"Uh… do you mind telling _me_ what that entails?" Mudsdale whispered to him. "I mean, I don't want you or anything, just… curious…"

Bewear, seeing this, just shook his head.

 **000**

" **Filthy slut…" Bewear muttered, his arms crossed.**

 **000**

"He's being plowed by the most common 'husbando' or whatever the hell weird female or gay idiots decide to call their husbands…" Dhelmise replied. "In other words, a Lucario…"

"That is correct," Nihilego replied, taking out another card. "Next question. Whose relatives' graves were destroyed when you guys went to the cemetery?"

"Lycanroc," Dhelmise answered simply.

"Correct again…" Nihilego replied, going to another card. "Next question…. What is Pyukumuku's sexuality?"

"WHAT IS WITH YOU?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "Ugh… I don't know! Straight!?"

"Incorrect. He is asexual… though I wish he was gay…" Nihilego said with a dismal tone.

Dhelmise groaned. "This is going to take forever..."

 **000**

" **I hate everyone…" he muttered.**

 **000**

Hakamo-o entered the cave to the second floor of the canyon, and immediately saw a large, rocket-like creature standing next to bunch of hot coals. The smell of the inside was very smoky because of this.

The green creature had long hair, a spike on its head, two large disembodied arms, and numerous legs and fingers. Upon seeing Hakamo-o, it took a breath. It was standing next to another stone pillar with markings.

As Hakamo-o approached, it immediately began to speak. "Hello, I'm Celesteela, and welcome to… whichever challenge number this is for you…" it introduced, its voice signifying that it was a female.

"Three…" Hakamo-o responded, folding her arms.

"Okay, so challenge three," Celesteela responded before turning her attention to the coals. "As you can clearly see, there are hot coals lining the floor. And, over that large wall across from us, are even more coals. At the very end of the opposite path, there will be a crystal that will be useful later on down the line. You must collect that crystal, and return back to me in order to receive your charm."

Hakamo-o believing that she knew what area she was talking about, nodded.

 **000**

" **Meh, I've explored this place before considering I live on this island, so… some of these areas aren't that much of a mystery to me…" Hakamo-o explained with a shrug.**

 **000**

"Alright, you may begin," Celesteela stated.

Hakamo-o took a breath before taking a step on the coal. It burned momentarily, but she decided that the best course of action would be to run. That way, she'd get through it faster.

She ran across the coal, nearly tripping and some point, which made her pause to regather herself. The burning sensation made her growl and she continued until she was off of the coals. She lifted up one of her feet and started blowing and rubbing it in pain.

"Stupid challenge…" she grumbled as she let her feet touch the cold concrete once again.

Hakamo-o exited through the large opening and looked out into the distance. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. " _Come on… you can do this…_ " she told herself.

She turned around and eyed the crawl space reasonably close to the larger opening. She got onto her stomach and started to crawl through. The heat and smoky smell was a clear indicator that this was the correct way. Once back inside, she rose to her feet, scratching the side of her face as she looked at all of the hot coal on the ground.

"And here we go again…" she muttered. She walked around on the cold rock on the inside of the cave for a few seconds, just so she'd have a bit of a temperature cushion like when she did the first paths of coals. Once she felt that she was fine, she rushed over the burning stones, attempting to follow the path they were leading to.

Eventually, as she turned a corner, she saw the exit and rushed toward it. The area before the exit was coal free, much to her relief. "Mother of Arceus, this is bullshit…" she said, rubbing her other foot.

She exited the room and entered the small clearing. There, she looked around before her eyes focused on the large crystal lying there. The crystal was transparent and glowing light blue.

She walked toward and picked it up. For some reason, the crystal was very heavy, and picking it up made her feel a small jolt.

"Jeez… what the hell is this thing for?" she asked as she lifted the crystal over her shoulder. She made sure that it was balanced so that she didn't accidentally drop it.

She sighed as she re-entered the cave. She started heading back to the front, where Celesteela was.

 **000**

"Alright, last question…" Nihilego started, much to Dhelmise's joy.

"Finally…" he drawled weakly, due to the poison. "After thirty-one bullshit questions... "

"True or false… Lunala and Solgaleo are a couple…" Nihilego said.

Upon hearing that, Dhelmise scoffed. "Of course not. Solgaleo seems like he attracts more guys than girls, and Lunala's already banging Yveltal…"

"That… is correct!" Nihilego replied with a smile. "Entei, Terrakion, Heatran, Latios, and even Keldeo, have said that he's cute! Imagine an orgy with all of them…"

"Let's NOT, mmkay?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "Just give me my stupid charm!"

Nihilego extended a tentacle, holding a necklace with her charm on it. Dhelmise placed it on his anchor with the other one.

"Two down… and seven more to go. Ugh…" he groaned.

Nihilego went over to the antidotes and potions, grabbing one of each. She came back over, spraying him with the antidote first before using the potion.

Dhelmise let out a breath upon being healed. "That's better…"

"You're welcome!"

"Yeah yeah. Do you know anything about a crystal? That walking spark plug says that there are like four scattered around this place," Dhelmise replied.

"Hmm… nope," Nihilego replied.

Dhelmise sighed. "Great…"

 **-000-**

The Sea Creeper Pokemon exited the cave, coming out from where he came in. He knew that the other side was the way to the Altar, so there was no point in going there yet.

He was simply glad that he was able to get the last challenge done already.

"Okay, time to backtrack…" he said to himself. As he headed back, he noticed two bridges overhead, leading to somewhere behind a wall. "Huh… I guess that can work."

He floated up in order to get to that possible entrance, his head aching from the idiocy of the questions he was asked. He got onto the bridge and looked forward in order to see what he was going to be dealing with. Luckily for him, there was an opening.

Entering the cave, he found himself on a higher platform. There was a ladder near the end of it that would allow people to get down. Being part ghost-type, he simply floated down and saw that there were numerous large stones next to pits. There were large walls all around as well. He then turned around and saw another exit. "What the hell…"

"Hey! You there!"

Dhelmise turned back toward the ladder and saw a small, flat white, orange, and yellow figure floating next to the ladder, as well as a stone pillar.

He groaned and floated toward the Ultra Beast. "Challenge?" Dhelmise requested.

"I was going to get to it anyway, you piece of shit…" the Drawn Sword Pokemon replied aggressively. Dhelmise rolled his eyes. "Now, your challenge is to push all of these rocks into the pits…"

Dhelmise stared blankly at him for a few seconds before looking at the _three_ large stones sitting next to the pits.

 **000**

" **This is both the lamest and dumbest challenge that has ever been done in the history of these shows…" Dhelmise commented.**

 **000**

Lunala groaned upon hearing Kartana's challenge. "This is supposed to be fucking _difficult!_ What is with them?!"

"This is why you should never let other outside people do challenges for a finale…" Drampa replied.

"This is still our first season, come on!" Lunala replied.

"Well, looks like this is going to take forever _and_ be boring as all shit…" Togedemaru stated.

Lunala sighed and looked to Solgaleo, who was still lying down.

 **000**

Hakamo-o panted as she dragged the crystal across the coals. She sighed in relief as she dropped the crystal in front of Celesteela.

"Nice work…" the Launch Pokemon commented. She lifted one of her large arms, one of her 'fingers' holding the necklace and charm.

Hakamo-o took the charm and put it on with the rest of them. "Okay, three out of nine…" Hakamo-o stated, looking at the charms. The top half of the stone pillar glowed.

"Remember, you're gonna have to keep the crystal for something later on…" Celesteela reminded.

Hakamo-o sighed. "Yeah…" she said before picking up the crystal again.

She then realized something. "Wait, I'm seriously gonna have to go over these stupid coals again!?"

"Yep. Sorry about that…"

Hakamo-o glowered at the Ultra Beast before letting out a groan and started walking over the coals again.

 **-000-**

Exiting the cave, the Scaly Pokemon grumbled to herself as she went toward the right path, where she found herself at a broken bridge with ropes above it. Looking down, there was a very long drop, and with the crystal, things were going to be _very_ difficult.

As she eyed the bridge, she didn't notice something crawling behind her. It resembled a brick structure, with a blue eye coming out of one of the brick openings. Its legs also had eyes on them, which was strange.

Hearing a growl from behind her, Hakamo-o turned around and jumped back upon seeing the large Ultra Beast behind her.

"What the hell!?"

The Ultra Beast didn't respond. Instead, one of the bricks opened and spat out a charm, much to her surprise.

"What? You don't talk?"

It only stared at her, which creeped her out a bit. She decided to go ahead and try to cross the bridge. However, as she started, she felt that her crystal was gone.

She looked around for it, before peering over the edge, hoping that she didn't accidentally drop it over the edge. She heard a whistle and looked across the way, seeing the Ultra Beast on the other side of the bridge. Her crystal was at his feet.

"What the hell!?" she exclaimed before turning around to make sure that she wasn't being fooled. She wasn't, which made her growl.

 **000**

Dhelmise earned his third charm and, after seeing another Ultra Beast on a lower level floated down in order to get his next challenge. He had never felt more annoyed or tired.

Floating down, he met up with a large, black crab-like Ultra Beast. He had a large mouth, with claw-like tongues, and what seemed to be two faces, one on top and the other taking up his body.

"Alright glutton, what's my challenge?" Dhelmise asked immediately. "I really don't feel like dealing any bullshit, so I beg you… just give it to me straight…"

Guzzlord blinked in response, not expecting such urgency. "Uh… alright then…."

The Junkivore Pokemon looked around. "As you can see, we're surrounded by pools of water. Your goal is to dive underwater and collect as many pearls as you can within a minute in each one. If you're able to collect thirty of them from each pool, you get your charm…."

Dhelmise sighed in annoyance. "So I have collect ninety fucking pearls in three minutes pretty much?"

"Yep…"

 **000**

"Yep, this is lame," Togedemaru commented as she yawned.

"Well, considering that you're not even in the action, I don't think you get to complain," Oricorio retorted.

"Hakamo-o's got four to Dhelmise's soon-to-be four, and we already know what each Ultra Beasts' challenge is other than the cockroach bitch…" Togedemaru replied. "So again… _laaaame_."

"Shut up Togedemaru…" Incineroar growled.

 **000**

The Sea Creeper Pokemon was currently under one of the pools, which had a surprising plethora of pearls at the bottom. He started tossing them out using his 'ghostliness', considering that Guzzlord didn't say anything against it.

One by one, pearls popped out of the water and onto the land, with Dhelmise boredly sitting against the wall, counting each one. "Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven…"

Once he made it to thirty, he emerged from the water and looked to Guzzlord for his approval. The dark- and dragon-type nodded. "Alright. Next pool…"

Dhelmise sighed before floating to the next pool, with Guzzlord following him. He entered the pool and sank to the bottom, eyeing all of the pearls there. He proceeded to do the same thing he just did in the other pool, sending them up while counting.

"One, two, three, four…"

Unluckily for him, there were a few Carvanha and Bruxish swimming around in that specific pool. "Sixteen,seventeen, eighteen, ni- AH!"

He looked to his side and saw that a Carvanha was biting his seaweed body. He felt another pinch and looked to his other side and saw a Bruxish biting him as well.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now!?" he bellowed.

He swiftly continued to count the pearls as he launched them out of the water, all the while the fish bit and scraped his body.

"Thirty!" he exclaimed as he rose up, shaking the fish off of himself while panting.

"With ten seconds to spare. Nice work," Guzzlord said, holding a stopwatch.

"Oh lucky me. Ten seconds or else I'd have to risk losing my body again…" Dhelmise replied sarcastically with a scowl.

"There's one more pool to go, and it'll be tougher, so don't you worry…" Guzzlord replied.

Dhelmise didn't reply. He and the Junkivore Pokemon moved to the last pool, which happened to be the largest one. Gazing to the other size, Dhelmise noticed an exit.

"Great… another way out so that I can find more of you wastes of Ultra Space…"

Guzzlord was unfazed. "Your minute starts now."

Hearing that, Dhelmise huffed and looked at the water. He noticed fins on the surface, swimming around, making him scream in his head before he went into the water.

Immediately upon getting in, the Sea Creeper saw that the number of pearls was lower and they were separated more. There were numerous Sharpedo, Basculin, and Toxapex around, making him very wary. He remained near the wall of the platform and proceeded with his challenge.

This time, he'd have to look closely in order to force the pearls out of the water.

 **000**

Hakamo-o was more than halfway across the bridge, with remaining pieces of wood creaking and cracking with every step she took.

She held the ropes tight, and almost had to resort to swinging on them in order to make it across. But, she was able to use them to keep her balance and made it across.

"Mother of Arceus, I hate this shit…" she commented as she panted heavily. The Ultra Beast in front of her just continued staring at her momentarily before stepping out of her way.

Hakamo-o heaved the crystal over her shoulder and started heading into the cave entrance. "Four down… five to go."

Upon entering the third floor of the canyon, Hakamo-o's eyes were immediately set upon three large stones, which were set next to pits. And, near a ladder, there was a floating white figure that she couldn't quite make out.

She traversed down the hill with her crystal, heading toward the figure, which she assumed was another UB. Getting closer, her assumption was correct.

"Ah, the other shit bag…" Kartana commented.

"Considering that you're made of paper, I don't think you have the right to insult me…" Hakamo-o responded.

"Talk back to me again, and I'll destroy that crystal of yours…" the Drawn Sword Pokemon threatened, much to Hakamo-o's annoyance.

 **000**

" **What the hell is wrong with these people?" she questioned.**

 **000**

"Now, if you want this stupid charm, you have to push these large stones into the pits like your anchor friend did earlier…"

Hearing that, Hakamo-o snarled. "Dhelmise was already here?!"

"Yeah, that's what I just insinuated, dumbass," he replied. "Now, do the fucking task and get out of my sight. It'd be greatly appreciated."

Hakamo-o gave him a look of agitation before placing her crystal near the middle of the three rocks. She sighed in annoyance as she approached the rocks, which were all six times her size. She pushed up against the first one, but the stone didn't even move a centimeter.

She kept on pushing with all of her strength, but the stones didn't budge. After a while, she stopped, with Kartana laughing at her lack of strength.

"Figures a girly girl like you can't push a fucking stone with your _hands_ ," Kartana mocked, while also giving a clue.

Hakamo-o glowered at him. Sexist remarks like that always pissed her off, even more than what Dhelmise says. She attempted to push the first stone once again, with no success.

"Come on Princess, what's the matter? You can't move a rock?" Kartana continued. "I thought you were supposed to be a finalist? I guess you're just a little bitch…"

Hakamo-o growled, continuing to push against the large stone. This time, the large boulder moved slightly, and she continued pushing. She stopped, panting softly with clenched fists.

"Wow… one inch. Congratulations, you're strong… NOT!" Kartana berated.

Hakamo-o growled, baring her teeth.

 **000**

"What the hell is wrong with that prick?!" Gumshoos queried. "He acts just like Dhelmise…"

"Don't remind us…" Lunala responded with a groan.

Solgaleo slowly got to his feet with a soft groan. Seeing this, Lunala floated toward him, helping him up. "You okay?"

Solgaleo's body was trembling a bit.

"What even happened to him?" Passimian queried.

"Again, personal matters…"

"Well, can you tell us so that we can try to _help_?!" Incineroar exclaimed.

Lunala gave them looks, unsure about whether or not they'd be able to help. And, now that she thought about it, she could have taken him to Shaymin, Latios, Latias, Xerneas, or Tapu Fini. They all knew Heal Pulse, after all.

She sighed. Now knowing a solution, she took a breath to explain. "He uh… overdosed on his antidepressants and now he's got the spins…"

Everyone had looks of shock as they turned to the Sunne Pokemon who was lying on the ground, staring at the tree. They then exchanged looks.

"Uh… is this because of Dhelmise, because-"

"No, no… he uh… he already had it, but uh…"

"So… you knew about his depression, but you guys still decided to do this?" Lycanroc queried in surprise.

Lunala mentally smacked herself. She knew she shouldn't have said anything. "Look, this is the finale. Let's focus on that, okay? Solgaleo will get better when we're back at the hall…"

"I'm not so sure if waiting is the best option, though," Oricorio said, seeing the sickly lion.

"Ugh… who cares?!" Togedemaru exclaimed. "She said he'll be okay, so he'll be okay. I just want this stupid challenge to be over with…"

"Why the sudden pole up your butt?" Tsareena questioned.

"I'm not winning anything, and I'd much rather be home eating right now…" Togedemaru replied. "So, no bullshit psychology is necessary…"

Tsareena rolled her eyes.

"So, you're just even more of a bitch when you're bored and hungry. Got it…" Drampa stated with a nod.

"Oh shut up, pedophile…"

"I'M NOT A PEDOPHILE!"

 **000**

Hakamo-o slammed her foot onto the ground, using Earthquake to shake the stone into the pit.

"Finally…" Kartana groaned. "You use that thick head of yours…"

Hakamo-o didn't respond; she just wanted to get this challenge over with. She used Earthquake two more times, shaking the rocks into the pits before heading back to the annoying Ultra Beast.

Kartana had the charm on his left arm as she approached. She grabbed it from him without saying a word before going back and picking up her crystal. She climbed up the ladder, identifying another pathway on the higher level.

Hakamo-o grunted as she heaved the crystal onto the platform before following it. She picked up the crystal once again and started heading out of the exit, a look of annoyance plastered on her face. She was sick of the Ultra Beasts, their attitudes, and their stupid challenges. She expected something far more challenging than these mediocre trials.

Upon exiting, she immediately noticed another bridge across from her, followed by another one, and then a tree. She rose a brow, but went along the paths in order to get down. On her way, she happened to look down and around. She saw Dhelmise emerge from a set of tree roots and gaped before growling.

 **000**

Dhelmise, upon realizing where he was, cursed to himself. "Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!"

He then noticed a figure walking along the pathways above. With a sneer, he floated up toward it, and upon close inspection, he saw that it was Hakamo-o… with a crystal!

Lunala told him not to do what he did last time, which wasn't clearly specified. Therefore, he concluded that she meant no swooping in at the last second. Well, considering that he only had four charms, this didn't count as last minute.

Hakamo-o seemed to have noticed him, as she moved faster down the tree.

"Oh-ho, no you don't bitch!" Dhelmise chortled as he fired a Shadow Ball at her. Hakamo-o saw the attack coming and leapt forward to dodge it.

She ended up dropping the crystal, which started rolling down the incline of the hill. "NO!"

Dhelmise stopped it, and floated it up next to him. "Aw… did you lose your crystal. That's too bad. Looks like you have to go back and get another one…"

"DHELMISE!" Hakamo-o exclaimed angrily. "LUNALA SAID A FAIR FIGHT!"

"AND THERE'S BEEN NO FAIRNESS TO ME AT ALL!" Dhelmise shouted back. "Plus, she didn't specify what 'same thing as last time', so… loopholes for the win."

Dhelmise, however, didn't think things through. Hakamo-o was on the same level as Xurkitree, who was silently watching the events unfold. She could take it back if he wasn't careful. However, that nervousness washed away when he remembered that he had something that she didn't. Stealth.

He turned invisible with the crystal and started floating down. Hakamo-o scowled and decided to just go further back on the level she was currently on. There was no point in getting mad over that if she couldn't even see him.

Going around, she noticed a white cockroach sitting around with two crystals next to her. She seemed to be bored, as she had her head resting on her hands. Upon seeing Hakamo-o approaching, she perked up.

"Oh, there's one of you…" Pheromosa acknowledged, getting onto her feet. Pheromosa walked forward and handed Hakamo-o her charm. "I don't have a stupid challenge, so just take the charm and get one… or both of the crystals…"

Hakamo-o put on her charm and smirked. However, she heard a voice immediately follow Pheromosa's instructions.

One of the crystals was lifted up and floating away. With a growl, Hakamo-o rushed after the floating crystal and grabbed onto it.

"What the…" Dhelmise started, making himself visible once again before beginning to shake the crystal erratically. "Get off!"

Hakamo-o hung on and used Shadow Claw on the Sea Creeper Pokémon, knocking him away. The crystal dropped, with Hakamo-o landing on top of it.

Dhelmise recovered from the blow, but growled as Hakamo-o picked up the crystal and continued toward Xurkitree so that she could get the challenge.

She saw that the crystal she had initially brought down was placed onto one of two pedestals.

"What's the challenge?" she asked, panting.

"Put two crystals in the same pedestal and hold onto both for ten seconds…" Xurkitree replied in a monotonous voice.

Hakamo-o groaned before an idea sprang in her head. "Does it matter who places them in first?"

Xurkitree shrugged. "I honestly don't give a fuck…"

Hearing that, Hakamo-o immediately grinned and walked to the pedestal with her first, stolen crystal. She placed the second one in the indention next to the first.

Immediately, both crystals generated electricity inside of them, a current going between the two.

Hakamo-o took a breath and grabbed hold of the two crystals. Electricity coursed through her body; it felt like she was being hit with twenty Thunder attacks and once.

"FUUUUCK!" she exclaimed as she held on, clenching the crystals.

After her ten seconds were up, Hakamo-o released the crystals and fainted onto the ground.

"Meh," Xurkitree said with a shrug before throwing his charm at her unconscious form.

Dhelmise came back around with the other crystal and immediately laughed upon seeing Hakamo-o lying unconscious with a charm on her chest.

"Well whaddya know, two for the price of one…" Dhelmise said as he took her charm off of her and placed it on his anchor. "Six down… three to go."

As he started floating away from her, a thought entered his head. He looked back down at her unconscious form and took note of the three charms around her neck that _he_ didn't have.

With a smirk, he lifted up her body and took off the charms given to her by Celesteela, Burst, and Stakataka.

"From six to nine in a heartbeat…" he said with a smirk. "Gotta love show business…"

With all of his charms accounted for, he started heading toward the Altar of the Sunne and Moone, entering the cave.

 **000**

"No… no! HE'D BETTER NOT!" Incineroar growled.

"I thought you said that he couldn't do that shit!" Tsareena exclaimed.

"He didn't appear when she was near the finish, and she's already knocked out, so… HA!" Togedemaru laughed.

Everyone just groaned and started grumbling, while Bewear watched the screen. Everyone stopped when they started hearing the Strong Arm Pokemon start a countdown. "And in five...four... three… two… one…"

 **000**

Dhelmise had to pass Nihilego again in order to get to the stairs leading up to the altar.

Once he made it to the stairs, he heard the faint padding of feet coming up fast. He had a feeling that he knew what it was, so he decided to just cut out the middleman and teleport to the top.

"Sucker…" Dhelmise replied as he floated to the flute to his left.

He heard the steps coming up even faster and snorted. He floated the flute up to his mouth area and started to play.

Slowly, but surely, an Ultra Wormhole started opening. Once it was fully open, he couldn't help but laugh. However, a familiar voice was heard behind him. "Nice try, bitch…"

Hakamo-o used Shadow Claw, knocking him to the side as the Ultra Wormhole slowly started to close.

"Wow, typical bullshit," Dhelmise replied. "You randomly get up and automatically noticed everything was practically mine?!"

"No, Xurkitree just told me that you stole my shit…" Hakamo-o growled, eyeing him angrily as the Ultra Wormhole closed.

"Well, that's nice, but if you don't mind…" he started, lifting her up and tossing her aside. "I have a competition to win…"

Hakamo-o growled, running up behind him, which he expected. He floated up to avoid the attack, but Hakamo-o grabbed onto him and used Shadow Claw again. Dhelmise threw her off, almost sending her tumbling down the stairs.

Hakamo-o groaned as she shakily got back up, which Dhelmise expected. This time, he used Shadow Ball, knocking her back once again.

"Stay the fuck down… it's not like you deserve to win anything anyway…"

"NEITHER DO YOU… PRICK!" Hakamo-o growled, shakily getting onto her feet.

"Yeah yeah, because people got their precious feelings hurt. You people act like you're never supposed to be insulted and that you're fucking perfect or untouchable, but newsflash… NONE OF US ARE! So just take your fucking lumps and learn!"

Dhelmise floated the flute to his face again and started playing. The Ultra Wormhole opened up as Hakamo-o rushed forward, only to be knocked toward the other podium by Dhelmise using kinesis.

Dhelmise floated all of his charms off of himself and flung them into the wormhole, which immediately closed.

"YES! YES! HAHAHA! YOU DUMB BASTARDS AND BITCHES! BOW DOWN TO ME!" Dhelmise heckled before calming down almost instantaneously. "Huh… well, that sounded cringy as fuck. People like me need to win more often…"

After a while, Dhelmise expected the hosts to appear and begrudgingly give him his prize. However, knowing how that act in his regard, he was going to have to go back to them.

"Oversensitive pricks…" he mumbled as he teleported away, leaving Hakamo-o alone.

Seeing this, she punched the podium.

 **000**

Dhelmise appeared before everyone at the front. As he expected, they were all glaring daggers at him.

"You assholes can have your fucking hissy fit later… right now I just my prize…" Dhelmise replied.

"Uh… I don't think you get one…" Bewear spoke up. Everyone, including the hosts, we're confused at his statement.

"Ugh… he's a retard, but I'm inclined to agree. I don't think you deserve it…" Mudsdale added.

"After all the shit I've been through, I do deserve this!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "How are a slut who got pregnant and a mentally retarded plush gonna tell me any different?"

"Because look-" Bewear said as he pointed to the monitor. Everyone looked to see what he was on about.

 **000**

Hakamo-o had punched the podium, but not out of anger, out of laughter!

She picked up the flute and began to play it, opening the Ultra Wormhole once again. She took off her charms, and to everyone's shock, _she_ had all nine of them.

"Well Dhelmise, I guess you're the one who's gonna learn a lesson…" Hakamo-o said to herself as she approached the wormhole,which was slowly closing.

 **-000-**

 _Hakamo-o grabbed onto Dhelmise, ripping five charms off of his anchor in the process before using Shadow Claw._

 _Dhelmise threw her off, almost sending her tumbling down the stairs._

 **-000-**

"Count your blessings…"

She forcefully threw all nine of the charms into the Ultra Wormhole, making it glow brightly with rainbow colors.

 **000**

"Wait...WHAT?!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "That's bullshit! I DID EVERYTHING FIRST!"

"Did you happen to count your charms or just… notice that some were missing before tossing them?" Bewear teased.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK HER! FUCK THIS GAME!"

"Wait, so… Haka wins?!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"Given the rainbows coming from the wormhole, I think that the answer is yes!"

Almost everyone cheered, with the exception of Dhelmise and Togedemaru.

"Well, let's go congratulate her!" Tsareena cheered as everyone was teleported away, with the exception of Dhelmise, who could only sigh.

 **000**

Hakamo-o sighed as she sat on the podium with the flute. Suddenly, everyone appeared around her with smiles on their faces.

Hakamo-o grew a bit uncomfortable. She knew that she had just won, but still!

"Uh… hi?"

Immediately, Lycanroc pounced on her, embracing her in a hug. "You did it, Haka!"

"You beat Dhelmise at his own game…" Passimian stated. "I'm impressed…"

"I had to get back at him for his bullshit. He had a fucking advantage in everything, but when he has to play fair instead of exploiting, it's awful," Hakamo-o explained.

"Well, despite his advantages, you were still able to best him. So, congratulations Hakamo-o. You are the winner of Total Pokémon: Alola!"

Everyone started to cheer for her and pat her back. Seconds later, Dhelmise appeared, making everyone go quiet.

Everyone glared at him, which he immediately rolled his eyes at. "Yeah, congratulations or whatever…" he muttered. "And, although it pains me to say this… nice play."

Everyone was surprised to hear that from him.

"Oh, well uh… thanks Dhelmise…" Hakamo-o responded.

"Anything _else_ you want to say?" Incineroar urged, baring his teeth.

The Sea Creeper stared at him blankly. "Go suck your boyfriend's dick?"

Incineroar blasted a Flamethrower toward him, which he dodged. "Jeez, you people are sensitive. If it means that much to you…"

Everyone listened closely. "I'm…

…

…

…

...sorry that you people take everything I say seriously when I literally never mean anything I say in my insults…"

Everyone remained silent.

"So close…" Drampa remarked.

Dhelmise chortled. "Yeah, but while I won't apologize for what I _say_ , I'll apologize for throwing some of you around and banging a few of you up…"

Lycanroc sighed. "Well, that's better than nothing…"

The camera immediately pointed to Solgaleo and Lunala, the latter who was smiling through his head pain. "Well, there you have I said ladies and gentlemen! Hakamo-o is the winner!" Solgaleo announced, his voice a bit raspier than usual.

"We hope you all enjoyed our first season! We'll catch you all next time!" Lunala announced, waving a wing.

The screen faded to black.

 **000**

After dropping each contestant off at home, the Lunar Duo returned to the hall.

Solgaleo lied on his bed, an ice pack on his head. He was watching the news out of sheer boredom, as he was sick of watching other legendaries' shows.

He heard a knock on his door.

"Come in…" he groggily replied.

Lunala entered his room with a smile. "Hey. How do you feel?"

"A bit better…"

"That's good. Well, I just thought I'd let you know that Arceus and Giratina decided not to let us have another season…" Lunala explained.

Solgaleo was upset, but he could understand their reasoning. "Why?"

"Your depression was getting worse, and I honestly don't really want to do it anymore…" she admitted. "I'd rather just do guest appearances if we're asked. I'm just glad that we finished one."

Hearing that, Solgaleo chuckled a bit. "I can see that…"

"So… are you okay with it?"

Solgaleo nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."

Lunala kissed his cheek. "Glad you're okay…"

Solgaleo blushed before nuzzling her. "Same here…"

 **000**

 **AND THERE WE HAVE IT! HAKAMO-O WINS ALOLA! Let me know you guys' thoughts overall. I'm actually surprised that this is so well received. Well, probably until this point. So, sorry if I disappointed everyone. But I still hope you enjoyed, nonetheless, because like Lunala said… there's no sequel, which sucks. So, I'll just see you guys next time on Total… Pokemon… Underdogs! See ya guys, BYE!**

 **000**

" **Review you sissy…" Dhelmise stated.**

 **000**

 **Dhelmise was sitting underwater. "Why should you choose me? Well, I feel like it's obvious. You need someone who's gonna get into these losers minds and ruin them from the inside."**

" **If you're willing to deal with me and seeing what I have to offer, I suggest you choose me because personally… this is just gonna be fun for me whether I win or not. Hehe…"**

 **000**

 **Hakamo-o was sitting on a sofa in her home. She waved. "Well, the only thing you need to know is that I need to get out more and that I'm a force to be reckoned with. So, just based on that, I think I'll be a suitable choice."**

" **As if they'd ever choose a she-man like you!" an outside voice shouted, followed by laughter.**

 **Hakamo-o sighed.**


End file.
